Army General Sergey Surovikin appointed commander of the combined group of Russian forces in area of military action in Ukraine

Army General Sergey Surovikin has been appointed as “commander of the combined group of forces in the area of the special military operation”, Russia’s Ministry of Defence reports.

“The Russian Defence Minister has appointed Army General Sergey Surovikin as commander of the combined group of troops (forces) in the area of the special military operation,” the ministry’s message reads.

Since 2017, Surovikin has commanded the Russian Aerospace Forces, state-owned news agency RIA Novosti points out. He also previously commanded the South group of forces deployed in Ukraine.

Yesterday, 7 October, head of Russia’s Dagestan Sergey Melikov reported that Lieutenant General Rustam Muradov had been appointed commander of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces.

During the failed Soviet coup d'état attempt in 1991, Sergey Surovikin was ordered by the coup organisers to take part in “restoring the constitutional order in Moscow”. In particular, he was involved in Moscow’s Garden Ring tunnel incident. During the incident, a column of 20 infantry fighting vehicles collided with an armoured car filled with protesters. Three protesters were killed as a result: Dmitry Komar, Ilya Krichevsky. and Vladimir Usov. They were named Heroes of the Soviet Union posthumously. Surovikin was arrested and spent around seven months in a pre-trial detention centre. Later, all charges against him were dropped.