Putin replaces general in charge of war in Ukraine after three months in post
Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, was appointed as the new commander of the combined forces group for Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine by defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, Reuters reports.
Gerasimov will be replacing Sergei Surovikin, a notorious general who opened fire on pro-democracy protesters in the 1990s. He was appointed Russia’s first overall commander for the war in Ukraine on the same day Vladimir Putin was dealt a humiliating blow after an explosion on the Kerch bridge sank a section of the motorway into the Kerch Strait and caused a major fire on the railway.
Surovikin is a veteran commander who led the Russian military expedition in Syria in 2017, where he was accused of using “controversial” tactics including indiscriminate bombing against anti-government fighters.
Surovikin also has a checkered history that includes two stints in jail for allegedly selling weapons and for leading a military column against protesters during the 1991 coup. He has also previously served in Tajikistan and Chechnya.
The top Russian military commander in Ukraine, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, left, and Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu, centre. Photograph: Gavriil Grigorov/AP
Announcing the appointment on Wednesday, the defence ministry said the changes were designed to increase the effectiveness of managing military operations in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
Surovikin will now stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said.
The ministry statement said:
The increase in the level of leadership of the special military operation is connected with the expansion in the scale of tasks ... the need to organise closer contact between different branches of the armed forces and improve the quality ... and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces.
Zelenskiy said fighting in Soledar still ongoing. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, and said that fighting was still going on. The head of Russia’s private military firm Wagner said his forces had completely liberated the eastern Ukrainian mining town, after Zelenskiy’s remarks.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Nato to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, and said Kyiv needs “powerful steps” as it tries to join the military alliance. Kyiv requested fast-track Nato membership last September, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, was appointed as the new commander of the combined forces group for Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said the changes were designed to increase the effectiveness of managing military operations in Ukraine.
The British government is planning to provide tanks to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against the Russian invasion, the Financial Times reported. A spokesperson for Number 10 said that prime minister Rishi Sunak, has asked defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”.
Poland plans to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said. Kyiv has been requesting heavy military vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2, which would represent a significant step up in western support to Ukraine.
The European Union is “prepared for a long war” in Ukraine and will support Kyiv against Russia’s aggression for “as long as it takes”, said Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström, whose country holds the EU’s presidency. He also said the EU would continue working on more sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
The German government said they are not aware of any requests from its allies to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. The statement from a government spokesperson on Wednesday came after Germany’s foreign minister visited the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv Tuesday. The spokesperson said Germany was coordinating closely with the United States, France, Britain and elsewhere on military support for Ukraine.
The Russian president said the situation in Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed was “difficult in places”. Vladimir Putin, speaking at a televised meeting with officials, also said Russia had all the resources it needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September.
Ukraine must “be ready” at its border with Russian ally Belarus even though it sees only “powerful statements” coming from its neighbour, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Kyiv has warned that Russia may try to use Belarus to launch a new ground invasion of Ukraine from the north.
Nato and the EU are launching a taskforce to bolster the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year’s attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia’s “weaponising of energy”, leaders said on Wednesday. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the taskforce would initially come up with proposals on transport, energy, digital and space infrastructure.
Russia replaces general in charge of Ukraine war in latest military shake-up
Russia appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine on Wednesday, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership during the stumbling invasion of its neighbour.
In a statement, the defence ministry said that Gerasimov’s appointment constituted a “raising of the status of the leadership” of the military force in Ukraine and was implemented to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces”.
Sergei Surovikin, a notorious general nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media, who was appointed as overall commander of the army in October, would stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said.
Brokering a deal on a safe zone around Ukraine’s Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is getting harder because of military involvement in talks, the head of the U.N nuclear watchdog said on Wednesday.
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Photograph: Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters
The Soviet-era plant, Europe’s largest, was captured by Russian forces in March, soon after their invasion of Ukraine. It has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster, Reuters reports.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) director general Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Italian public television RAI:
I don’t believe that (an agreement) is impossible, but it is not an easy negotiation … It has become … a longer and more difficult (negotiating) table.
Grossi added the talks have become more complex as they involve not just diplomats, but military officers as well.
He said:
They are playing with fire. A nuclear accident is in nobody’s interest, not even the Russians.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, and his Ukraine counterpart Zelenskiy commemorate fallen Ukrainian defenders at a cemetery in Lviv. Photograph: Reuters
Duda and Zelenskiy pay tribute to those who died defending Ukraine. Photograph: Reuters
Duda and Zelenskiy commemorate fallen soldiers at a cemetery in Lviv. Photograph: Reuters
The head of Russia’s private military firm Wagner said his forces had completely liberated the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar, after Ukraine’s president said fighting is ongoing.
According to Reuters, Yevgeny Prigozhin said approximately 500 pro-Ukraine troops were killed.
“The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers,” Prigozhin said in a statement.
The remarks come after Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, saying that fighting was still going on.
Zelenskiy said:
The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend that part of our town of Soledar … is some sort of a Russian possession. But fighting continues. The Donetsk theatre of operations is holding.
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, discussed energy and transport projects with Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, in a telephone call on Wednesday, the Kremlin said.
In a readout of the call, the Kremlin said the two leaders had discussed how to further develop “mutually beneficial projects in the energy, transport and logistics sectors” and also stated their desire to “normalise” the situation in Syria, Reuters reports.
Russian conscript sentenced to years in prison after rebelling against superiors
A Russian conscript has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison after getting into an altercation with his superiors over poor training conditions, in the first known ruling against a soldier who criticised the Kremlin’s unpopular mobilisation.
In a widely shared video filmed on 13 November, draftee, Alexander Leshkov, is seen shouting profanities and shoving Lt Col Denis Mazanov at a training ground outside Moscow.
In the footage, Leshkov is heard telling his commander: “You are sabotaging the commander-in-chief’s direct orders [to supply and train mobilised soldiers],” adding: “You should be arrested.”
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, saying that fighting was still going on in a video address on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
Zelenskiy said in a video address:
The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend that part of our town of Soledar ... is some sort of a Russian possession. But fighting continues. The Donetsk theatre of operations is holding.
Ukrainian soldiers in their position on the Donbas frontline. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
People walk through the heavily damaged town of Izium. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Volodymyr Zelenskiy paying tribute to fallen soldiers at the Field of Mars of Lychakiv cemetery in the western city of Lviv. Photograph: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER/AFP/Getty Images
People receive aid in the heavily damaged town of Izium. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers on a tank on the Donbas frontline. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Welcome, if you’re joining us now, to our continuing live coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war – day 322 of the conflict. It is 7pm in Kyiv. Here’s the latest:
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Nato to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, saying Kyiv needs “powerful steps” as it tries to join the military alliance. Kyiv requested fast-track Nato membership last September, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military has denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar, after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that the eastern town had fallen. Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said: “Russians say that it is under their control, it is not true”.
Russia’s chief of the general staff, Valery Gerasimov, was appointed as the new commander of the combined forces group for Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine. Russia’s defence ministry said the changes were designed to increase the effectiveness of managing military operations in Ukraine.
The British government is planning to provide tanks to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against the Russian invasion, the Financial Times reports. A spokesperson for Number 10 said that prime minister, Rishi Sunak, has asked defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”.
Poland plans to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president has said, according to reports. Kyiv has been requesting heavy military vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2, which would represent a significant step up in western support to Ukraine.
The European Union is “prepared for a long war” in Ukraine and will support Kyiv against Russia’s aggression for “as long as it takes”, said Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, whose country holds the EU’s presidency. He also said the EU would continue working on more sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.
Russian forces are trying ‘without success’ to capture Soledar, a Ukrainian official said. “The enemy has again replaced its units after sustaining losses, has increased the number of Wagner (Russian mercenaries),” Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, wrote on Telegram.
The German government said they are not aware of any requests from its allies to send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. The statement from a government spokesperson on Wednesday comes after Germany’s foreign minister visited the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv Tuesday. The spokesperson said Germany was coordinating closely with the United States, France, Britain and elsewhere on military support for Ukraine.
The Russian president said the situation in Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed was “difficult in places”. Vladimir Putin, speaking at a televised meeting with officials, also said Russia had all the resources it needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September.
Ukraine must “be ready” at its border with Russian ally Belarus even though it sees only “powerful statements” coming from its neighbour, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Kyiv has warned that Russia may try to use Belarus to launch a new ground invasion of Ukraine from the north.
Nato and the EU are launching a taskforce to bolster the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year’s attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia’s “weaponising of energy”, leaders said on Wednesday. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the taskforce would initially come up with proposals on transport, energy, digital and space infrastructure.
Ukraine needs 'powerful steps' from Nato, urges Zelenskiy
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Nato on Wednesday to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, saying Kyiv needs “powerful steps” as it tries to join the military alliance, Reuters reports.
Kyiv requested fast-track Nato membership last September, seven months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Nato says it has an open-door policy to Ukraine but has not said whether it will accelerate moves towards Kyiv’s possible accession.
Speaking in Lviv, Zelenskiy said:
For today, just support for Ukraine from colleagues in Nato and support in the form of rhetoric about open doors is not enough for Ukraine. Namely, not enough to motivate our state ... our soldiers.
