Vladimir Putin's former ally and top Russian general Gennady Zhidko has passed away at 57

At the age of 57, Russia's former Deputy Defense Minister Gennady Zhidko has died. Reports from Tass, Russia's state news agency, cite the Telegram channel of Mikhail Degtyarev, governor of the Khabarovsk region. According to him, the former colonel general passed away after suffering from a 'long illness'.

He was Putin's former confidant

As head of Russia's eastern military region, Colonel General Gennady Zhidko has been in charge of troops in Ukraine. It was not without reason that Putin entrusted him with the post of deputy defense minister in 2021, according to t-online. Later, he had an accidental fall from grace.

After serving as the Russian army's chief of staff in Syria, Zhidko took over from Alexander Dvornikov in Ukraine, t-online adds. However, he was apparently not performing his duties to Putin's satisfaction.

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There was a change at management level

In October of last year, Zhidko was removed from his post. His successor, Sergei Surovikin, was finally arrested. These are events familiar from the Russian leadership. There is no official confirmation of Zhidko's death so far, as news.de reports.

Before the conflict in Ukraine, General Zhidko held significant positions within the Russian army. While deployed in Syria, he acted as chief of staff of Putin's forces and led the Eastern Military District. His achievements in the Middle East have been recognized with the highest award 'Hero of the Russian Federation', news.de adds.

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This article has been translated from Gentside DE.

Sources used:

t-online: Putins Ex-Oberbefehlshaber für die Ukraine ist tot

news.de: Gennadi Schidko ist tot: Er leitete russische Truppen in der Ukraine! Ex-Putin-General mit 57 gestorben