New head of Russian land forces distinguished himself in Ukraine

(Reuters) - A colonel general dubbed "General Breakthrough" for distinguishing himself in key battles in Moscow's more than three-year-old war in Ukraine has been appointed head of Russia's land forces, the daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta said on Friday.

The government daily said Andrei Mordvichev was born in 1976 in what was then Soviet Kazakhstan and last year was decorated as a Hero of Russia, the country's highest award.

Mordvichev, previously head of the Central Military District, commanded operations that led to the 2022 surrender of Ukrainian units holding out in the Azovstal steelworks after a siege of about 80 days in the southern port of Mariupol.

In 2024, he led Russian troops capturing the mining centre of Avdiivka in Donetsk region on the war's eastern front, a key operation in a town where Ukrainian authorities had for years built up fortifications.

Rossiiskaya Gazeta said he also led Russian forces in retaking three key towns in their slow advance westward through Donetsk region - Selydove, Kurakhove and Ukrainsk.

Earlier in his career, he had also taken part in conflicts in Syria.

Mordvichev takes over from army general Oleg Salyukov, replaced as head of ground forces on Thursday by a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin.

Salyukov, 69, was appointed deputy secretary of the Security Council, the Kremlin's top consultative body, chaired by Putin, and which is responsible for managing and integrating national security policy.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sandra Maler)