(MENAFN) Russian President Vladimir Putin has designated Colonel General Andrey Bulyga as the new deputy secretary of the National Security Council, according to a decree issued on Saturday.

The senior officer has simultaneously been dismissed from his previous role as Russia’s deputy defense minister, a position he had occupied since March of the previous year.

Before this latest appointment, Bulyga had served as deputy commander of Russia’s Western Military District, overseeing logistics operations.

In his new capacity, he will now act as deputy to the Russian Security Council secretary and former defense minister, Sergey Shoigu.

According to a corresponding decree released the same day, Putin has named Colonel General Aleksandr Sanchik as the new deputy defense minister.

Sanchik brings substantial battlefield experience, having led the Russian "East" and "South" joint groups of forces during the conflict in Ukraine.

The decorated commander also participated in Russia’s counter-terrorist campaign in Syria in 2015, the Russian-Georgian war in 2008, and multiple operations targeting extremist militant factions in the North Caucasus.

The "South" joint group of forces is presently heavily involved in combat within Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic, where it recently surrounded the major Ukrainian-controlled stronghold of Krasnoarmeysk.

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