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Colonel-General Alexander Lapin has been appointed chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, Russian news outlet RBC said, citing a source in the Russian Defense Ministry.

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Lapin was the commander of the Central Military District, during the invasion of Ukraine he became the commander of the "Center" group of troops, the Ministry of Defense announced.

Recently, his name stopped appearing in military reports, the commander of the combined group of Russian troops Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon", came to the fore.

General Lapin, like Surovikin, has gained combat experience in Syria.

According to RBC, Lapin was the commander of the "Center" group until the end of October.

The 59-year-old general in 2017 was the chief of staff of the group of Russian troops in Syria, in November of the same year he headed the command of the Central Military District, and from October 2018 to January 2019 he led the Russian troops in Syria.

The Balkans are the main source of foreign personnel for "Wagner"

On July 4 of last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree awarding Lapin the title of Hero of Russia for "courage and heroism shown in the performance of military duty" (Russian authorities do not specify what exactly the colonel-general distinguished himself with in the war against Ukraine )

Also last year, Lapin's son, who also took part in the war, received an award for courage against the background of the failed advance of the Russian army towards Sumy and Chernigov.

Russian invasion of Ukraine