Putin replaces commander of Russia's ground forces, appoints him to security council
PHOTO CAPTION: Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces Oleg Salyukov arrives for an expanded meeting of the Defense Ministry Board at the National Defense Control Centre in Moscow, Russia December 16, 2024. Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via REUTERS
MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin has replaced the commander of Russia's ground forces, Army General Oleg Salyukov, 69, appointing him deputy secretary of the Security Council, according to a decree published on the Kremlin's website on Thursday.
The Security Council is the Kremlin's top consultative body, chaired by Putin, and which is responsible for managing and integrating national security policy. It does not have direct authority over Russia's security agencies and ministries.
The secretary of the Security Council is former defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Salyukov has for the past 11 years led the large Victory Day parades in Moscow's Red Square that mark the anniversary of Germany's surrender at the end of World War Two.
From January 2023, Salyukov was deputy to Valery Gerasimov, Russia's Chief of the General Staff, who was appointed by Putin as a commander in charge to lead Russia's war in Ukraine.
Salyukov has been sanctioned by the United Kingdom, the European Union, Canada and several other countries.
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
