Gennady Zhidko

Gennady Zhidko
Gennady Zhidko
	Official portrait, 2021
Native name	Геннадий Валериевич Жидко
Birth name	Gennady Valeryevich Zhidko
Born	12 September 1965; Yangiobod, Uzbek SSR, Soviet Union
Died	16 August 2023 (aged 57); Moscow, Russia
Allegiance	Soviet Union; Russia;
Service/branch	Russian Ground Forces
Years of service	1988–2023
Rank	Colonel general
Commands held	Eastern Military District; Deputy Minister of Defence;
Battles/wars	Russian military intervention in the Syrian civil war; Russian invasion of Ukraine;
Awards	Hero of the Russian Federation

Gennady Valeryevich Zhidko (Russian: Геннадий Валериевич Жидко; 12 September 1965 – 16 August 2023) was a colonel general of the Russian Armed Forces. He was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017 for his service as chief of staff of Russian forces deployed to Syria. Following this assignment, Zhidko commanded the Eastern Military District and headed the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.

In late May 2022, it was reported that Zhidko had been put in charge of Russian forces during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, replacing Army General Aleksandr Dvornikov.^[1] In October 2022, he was replaced by Army General Sergey Surovikin as the new commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine.

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