Colonel General Alexander Lapin chairs Headquarters of Russian Ground Forces Headquarters

Colonel-General Alexander Lapin headed the Main Headquarters of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, a source in the Defence Ministry told RBC.

Noteworthy, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly criticised Lapin before.

Until the end of October 2022, Lapin commanded the Center Group of Russian troops during the special military operation in Ukraine.

In November, the military asked Lapin to return to the zone of the special operation. Prior to this, the general went on a three-week leave to improve his health.

In the summer of 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded Lapin the title of Hero of Russia.

Alexander Lapin has been serving the Commander of the Central Military District since November 22, 2017. He has taken all command positions and headed the Combined Arms Academy of the Russian Armed Forces.

Colonel-General Alexander Lapin will take up planning and mobilisation issues in his new position, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces, General of the Russian Army Vladimir Boldyrev said, ura.ru publication reports.

According to him, Lapin has been appointed the Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces.

"It is a very serious and important position. It involves planning, first of all, the use of ground forces. This is a huge amount of work related to mobilisation issues and territorial defence. This is planning for the preparation of military districts," Boldyrev said.

Lapin will have to take on serious responsibility that he will cope with owing to the level of his training, General Boldyrev said.

In turn, reserve colonel and military observer Gennady Alekhin said that the position of the Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces was one of the key positions in the Russian Army.

"This is the think tank of the Main Command of the Ground Forces. These are the departments where people should think with their heads. They develop plans, draw maps,” he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov could neither confirm nor deny Alexander Lapin's appointment to the media. There are public and classified presidential decrees, he said.