 Russian Army General Sergei Surovikin has been removed from his position as the commander of the Combined Forces in Ukraine. Valery Giraisimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, will replace him. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement today. Sergei Surovikin, as well as the commander of the Ground Forces, General Aleksa Lyukov, and the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Colonel General Aleksey Kim Giraisimov, have been appointed as deputies. The Russian Defense Ministry said the rotation was aimed at increasing the level of leadership of the Special Operation. It was also noted that the new appointments have to do with expanding the scope of the task to be solved, as well as a need to organize closer interaction between the types of the troops.