Vladimir Putin on August 5 announced a shake-up in the leadership of Russian army groupings fighting in Ukraine, saying at a Defense Ministry meeting that all rear services would be "concentrated in one hand." Valery Solodchuk, who previously commanded the "Center" grouping, was appointed to head the unified rear services.
Putin said the decision to create a single rear services command was made "at the proposal of the defense minister," adding that "in modern conditions, this is also fully combat work." According to The Bell, Solodchuk is the commander of the Central Military District. Ukraine considers him involved in war crimes in Bucha.
The "Center" grouping will now be led by Andrei Ivanayev, who previously commanded the "East" grouping. That grouping will be taken over by General Pyotr Bulgarev (spelled Bolgarev in some sources), its former chief of staff.
Denis Lyamin, chief of staff of the "Center" grouping, was appointed commander of the unmanned systems forces. Putin called him "one of the most qualified specialists in this field" and expressed hope that Lyamin would "bring to completion the formation" of the new branch of the military. The Bell notes that Lyamin is a career military officer who had already worked on drone and inter-service coordination issues.
The creation of unmanned systems forces as a separate branch of the military was announced in November 2025. It was previously reported that Yuri Vaganov had been appointed its head — according to the BBC, a former seller of plumbing and building materials. As The Bell writes, pro-war bloggers had complaints about Vaganov, suspecting him of promoting companies linked to him in drone procurement at the expense of competitors.