A pro-Vladimir Putin Russian news outlet confirmed the death of 58-year-old Colonel General Gennady Zhidko Wednesday (August 16).
Zhidko briefly led the invasion of Ukraine as commander of the Southern Grouping of Forces before giving way to General Sergei 'Armageddon' Surovikin in October, according to the Daily Mail.
The deceased general served as the chief of staff of the Russian forces in Syria in 2016 and commander of the Eastern Military District in 2018. He received the Hero of Russia medal, the highest military honor the Kremlin could give to its military personnel in 2017.
Zhidko became Russia's deputy minister of defense in 2021.
Surovikin himself was dismissed after suspicions he knew of Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's mutiny but failed to act on it.
No Cause of Death Reported
According to Russian online news outlet Readovka, the general was relieved of command in Ukraine in October 2022 after failing to capture the city of Kharkiv, just like the person he replaced, General Alexander Dvornikov, also known as the "Butcher of Syria."
Little had been seen of Zhidko in recent months. There was also no reason for his death other than he died after a "long illness".
Zhidko's death was also confirmed by Khabarovsk governor Mikhail Degtyarev, who expressed his condolences, but no official announcement was made.
