By Chris Muhizi for MCN.
A Russian commander who headed up the invasion of Ukraine and was later ousted by Vladimir Putin has been found dead.
On August 16, according to the Russian online news outlet Readovka, Colonel General Gennady Zhidko passed away at the age of 58 after a “lengthy illness.”
Before General Sergei “Armageddon” Surovikin took over in October, the general oversaw the Southern Grouping of Forces and temporarily oversaw the invasion.
In October 2022, he was relieved of command of Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine after failing to take control of Kharkiv.
His passing occurs as Russia intensifies its attacks on the infrastructures used by Ukraine to transport grain through the Danube River and Black Sea ports.
Zhidko’s appointment was deemed “a drastic step” at the time according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), as he was a political officer rather than a unit commander in charge of overseeing troops. He previously served as the chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Directorate, which is in charge of indoctrinating the Russian military with its ideologies and maintaining morale. He simultaneously held the position of Deputy Minister of Defense for Russia.
Tass claims that Zhidko previously held the position of Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, for which he was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation award, which is the country’s highest honor.