Lieutenant General Andrey Mordvichev became the new commander of the Central Military District (TsVO). The corresponding entry, RBC writes, appeared in the SPARK-Interfax database and the Unified State Register of Legal Entities. As commander of the district, Mordvichev replaced Colonel General Alexander Lapin.

In January, Lapin was appointed chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces of the RF Armed Forces. Until now, there has been no officially confirmed information about who became his successor as commander of the Central Military District, but in mid-January, State Duma deputy Dmitry Sablin announced the appointment of Mordvichev to this position.

• General Lapin, until the end of October 2022, commanded the Center group of troops participating in the invasion of Ukraine. Lapin was publicly sharply criticized by the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov. In particular, after the retreat of Russian troops from the Lyman, Kadyrov called Lapin "a mediocrity which the leaders in the General Staff are covering up."

• General Mordvichev previously commanded the 8th Army, and led army units in the battles for Mariupol. At the end of March 2022, after reports of the death of Mordvichev appeared, Channel One aired a video in which the general stood next to the head of Chechnya, and Kadyrov called him “the best commander.”