Putin Shakes-Up Army In Ukraine As He Demotes 'General Armageddon'

Vladimir Putin has authorised another shake-up in the military leadership leading the invasion of Ukraine, while Kyiv mocked claims that it had lost the town of Soledar which is at the centre of a furious Russian assault.

- Liam James

Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, has been appointed as overall commander of forces in Ukraine, one of a number of changes in recent months as Mr Putin seeks a success story to sell at home. It is clear that pressure is building on the Kremlin, with the move in effect demoting Gen Sergei Surovikin, who had been named Russia's top battlefield commander in Ukraine only last October after a spate of offensives by Kyiv's troops that turned the tide of the war. Gen Surovikin had earned the nickname "General Armageddon" from the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness.

A Defence Ministry statement said the reshuffle was meant to improve contacts between different military branches and the "quality and effectiveness" of the command structure.

Moscow seeks control of Soledar to strenghten its position around the nearby besieged city of Bakhmut and provide a stepping stone to other cities in the eastern Donbas region. On Wednesday evening, Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky mocked claims by the Russian mercenary Wagner group that it had taken control of the town - the scene of some of the most intense fighting since Moscow's invasion began.

The head of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin - an ally of Mr Putin had claimed that his forces had control of the town, an important stepping stone for Moscow's aims to take over the entire eastern Donbas region. He doubled down on those boasts on Wednesday evening, claiming the "complete liberation" of Soledar and the killing of 500 Ukrainian soldiers.