The Russian army announced on Sunday the appointment of a new head of its military logistics, General Alexei Kuzmenkov, who replaces another high-ranking officer, General Mikhail Mizintsev, as Kiev claims to have completed its preparations for a counteroffensive.
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“General Alexei Kuzmenkov has been appointed Russian Deputy Minister of Defense, responsible for the material and technical supply of the Russian armed forces,” the army said in a statement.
Until now, Mr. Kuzmenkov was deputy director of the Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia), a post he had held since 2019, according to the press release.
Alexeï Kouzmenkov thus replaces Mikhaïl Mizintsev, who was only appointed to this post last September.
Former head of the National Defense Control Center, Mr. Mizintsev, nicknamed by Western media “Butcher of Mariupol”, is targeted by Western sanctions for his role in the siege of Mariupol, a port city in the south-east of the Ukraine, devastated by the bombardments.
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However, no official announcement of his dismissal has been made either by the Russian army or by the public media.
Russian logistics have often failed since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched in February 2022.
It was notably put to the test with President Vladimir Putin’s decision to mobilize several hundred thousand men last September, in an attempt to stem the setbacks suffered by the Russian army in the face of Ukrainian forces and the armament provided by Westerners.