The TOF commander resigned after a sudden combat readiness check

Commander of the Pacific Fleet, Admiral Sergey Avakyants, left his post. Yuriy Trutnev, the presidential deputy in the Far Eastern Federal District, announced his appointment to a new position on Thursday.

The resignation of the commander became known less than a week after a sudden check of combat readiness of the fleet unit. Its reasons are not reported. Avakyants commanded the Pacific Fleet – one of the most powerful Russian fleets – since 2012.

Trutnev also did not mention the reasons for the resignation, he said only about the new appointment of Avakyants – he will head the headquarters, which will oversee the centers of military and sports training and patriotic education. They will be created in 12 regions, including the “DPR” (the official Russian name of the Donetsk region of Ukraine).

On April 14, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a surprise inspection of units of the Pacific Fleet. During the inspection, exercises were held with the participation of 25,000 military personnel to repel a possible amphibious landing on Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. The Kremlin called the check “routine”.

Units of the Pacific Fleet are taking part in the war in Ukraine. Marines of the 155th brigade of the Pacific Fleet, according to their own statements and according to the data of analysts, suffered heavy losses in the battles near Ugledar in the Donetsk region. The American publication Politico wrote that the brigade was “almost completely destroyed”. A number of Russian pro-military bloggers criticized the command for the fact that the brigade was thrown into a frontal assault on Ugledar (it failed to take the town).