TAKING COMMAND

Russia Names New Air Force Boss After ‘General Armageddon’ Removed

Gen. Sergei Surovikin was replaced after his suspected involvement in the Wagner coup.

A new acting head of Russia’s aerospace forces was named by state media on Wednesday following the removal of “General Armageddon” Sergei Surovikin. Surovikin has not been seen in public since June and reportedly spent several weeks on house arrest over his suspected involvement in the failed mutiny led by Wagner Group mercenaries. Surovikin once commanded Russia’s forces in Ukraine, but his official removal from his role was reported on Tuesday. “Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov, Chief of the General Staff of the Aerospace Forces, is temporarily acting as Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces,” a source was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday. Afzalov previously served as Surovikin’s deputy and has been chief of staff of the Aerospace Forces for at least four years, according to British military intelligence.