2023-10-20 19:09:21
Colonel General Viktor Afzalov was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS), reports in the evening October 20 RIA Novosti, citing a source familiar with the situation.
For the last few months, Afzalov has held the position of commander-in-chief with the prefix of acting. Before Afzalov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces was Army General Sergei Surovikin. He was officially relieved of this position on August 23. Afzalov was the chief of staff of the Russian Aerospace Forces under Surovikin.
Let us recall that Surovikin became the commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces in October 2017, and before that he commanded the Russian group in Syria. In October 2022, he was appointed commander of a group of forces in the Northern Military District zone, and in January 2023, he became deputy commander.
Surovikin did not appear in public for a long time after the night of the Wagner PMC mutiny on June 24. Then he recorded a video message to the PMC fighters, calling for them to stop. A few days later, rumors appeared in the media that the general might be under arrest or under investigation because of his sympathy for PMCs. Previously, Yevgeny Prigozhin spoke positively several times about Wagner’s cooperation with Surovikin during the Northern Military District.
However, in September, media reports appeared that Surovikin was in Algeria along with a delegation from the Russian Ministry of Defense. Anonymous sources then linked Surovikin’s trip “with the possible appointment of a general to a position related to ‘work in the eastern direction’.”
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