Commander of Russian Southern Group of troops removed from office – media

This information was reported on Saturday by several pro-war Russian Telegram channels and Russian media outlets, citing a source within the Russian Ministry of Defense, as reported by Ukrinform, referring to Radio Liberty.

According to the source in the Russian Defense Ministry, this is a "planned rotation." However, one of the pro-war Russian bloggers stated that Anashkin was removed from his position "due to systematic deception of the Russian Armed Forces command and the political leadership of the country," referring to his earlier claims that the Southern group's command had reported non-existent victories, particularly on the Severodonetsk front.

Russian media outlets also report that the Russian Ministry of Defense has not officially confirmed either Anashkin's appointment as the commander of the Southern Group of troops or his dismissal. However, in May 2024, it was noted that General Anashkin had been appointed as the acting commander of the Southern Military District forces. The units of this district form the Southern Group, which is primarily involved in fighting Ukrainian forces in Donetsk region, according to Radio Liberty.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was removed from his position after the destruction of the Caesar Kunikov assault landing warship.