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Colonel General Gennady Zhidko, a top Russian Army commander who was dismissed as Moscow suffered setbacks in the Ukraine war, has died at the age of 57, a regional governor announced on Wednesday.
The former commander of Russia's Eastern Military District and the former Russian deputy minister of defense died in Moscow "after a long illness," Mikhail Degtyarev, the governor of Khabarovsk Krai said in a post on Telegram.
Zhidko served as Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria in 2016, and in 2018 was appointed Commander of the Eastern Military District. He was made deputy minister of defense in 2021.
He was removed from his post as commander of the Southern Grouping of Forces in October 2022 and replaced by General Sergei Surovikin after just months on the job. His dismissal came as Russia suffered heavy losses in the war.
Newsweek reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry via email for comment.
Degtyarev didn't elaborate on the cause of Zhidko's death.
"I was lucky to know this man, very attentive to the needs of a simple soldier and very diligent in service. It is these commanders who are called commanders," Degtyarev wrote. "In Syria, Gennady Valerievich led the headquarters of the grouping of our troops, in Khabarovsk he served as commander of the troops of the Eastern Military District, in Moscow - Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia."
He added: "Eternal memory to the Hero, God rest his soul."
Zhidko's dismissal last year came as Ukraine launched a successful counteroffensive in the southern city of Kherson and in the northeastern Kharkiv region which saw its forces recapture swathes of territory that Russia had seized in the war.
At the time, Britain's Defense Ministry said as part of its daily assessment of the war that the poor performance of Russia's armed forces during its invasion of Ukraine has been costly for Russia's military leadership, highly likely resulting in the dismissal of at least six Russian commanders since the start of hostilities in February 2022.
"These dismissals are compounded by at least 10 Russian Generals killed on the battlefield in Ukraine. The cumulative effect on consistency of command is likely contributing to Russian tactical and operational difficulties," the ministry said at the time.
Zhidko was awarded the title of Hero of Russia in 2017.
The Kremlin has yet to comment on news of his death.
Update 08/16/23, 12:39 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more