The Latest Breaking News from Valery Gerasimov

Jealousy. Power struggles. Political infighting. This week's shake-up of Putin's top commanders in charge of Russia's invasion in Ukraine have it all, according to some security experts.

The battle for Soledar; Putin reshuffles his military top brass again; west considers giving tanks to Ukraine

Russian leader publicly berated Denis Manturov, eye-rolling and shuffling papers during the live call, as his war in Ukraine caused fresh problems

Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, in what would be a rare success for Moscow after months of battlefield reverses, but Kyiv said its troops were still fighting in the town.

President Vladimir Putin has put his top military officer Valery Gerasimov in charge of Russia’s stalled invasion of Ukraine, in the latest reshuffle since the start of the war. The chief of the general staff will be expected to bolster the army’s sagging war effort while contending with the Wagner…

The Pentagon said on Thursday that Russia's persistent troubles in Ukraine likely led to latest shake-up in military leadership, and urged Moscow to end the war instead turning to new generals to oversee the nearly year-long invasion.

Moscow (AFP) - Valery Gerasimov, who in a surprise move was named to lead Russian troops in Ukraine after months of setbacks, has been Moscow's top general for the past decade as chief of the general staff.

The battle over the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar has been raging for several days now, with claims and counter-claims about whether Russia now has full control there.

Experts have described the move as a "significant" development.