Russian media report death of General Zhidko. He commanded the invasion of Ukraine in 2022

Russian media report the death of the former commander of the Eastern Military District and ex-deputy minister of defense of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Gennady Zhidko, who in May-July 2022 commanded the occupying group of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine. Russian outlets refer to the message of the governor of the Khabarovsk Krai Mikhail Degtyarev on Telegram.

Zhidko allegedly died in Moscow after a long illness.

In 2016, Zhidko headed the headquarters of the Russian Armed Forces group in Syria. In 2018, he became the commander of the Eastern Military District of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. From November 2021 to July 2022, Zhidko was the Deputy Minister of Defense — Head of the Main Military-Political Department of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

In early June 2023, it was reported that Zhidko was appointed to command all occupation groups of the Russian Armed Forces in Ukraine, replacing General Dvornikov in this position.

On the night of June 13, 2023, a missile strike by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed the Chief of Staff of the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Armed Forces, Major General Sergei Goryachev.

On the night of July 11, near Berdyansk, the highest-ranking Russian military officer during the entire war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine was eliminated: the deputy commander of the air defense of the Russian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Oleg Tsokov.