A Russian general who reportedly served as top military commander for Ukraine last year has diedeh, according to CNN citing Russian state media.

Army general Gennady Zhidko died at the age of 58 “after a long illness” on Wednesday, according to the state-run TASS news agency.

Zhidko served as Commander of Russia’s Eastern Military District between May and October last year. He was reportedly the overall commander of operations in Ukraine during Moscow’s offensive against Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in the summer of 2022.

His death was first announced on Telegram by the governor of Russia’s Khabarovsk Territory, Mikhail Degtyarev, who said: “I was lucky to meet this man, very attentive to the needs of an ordinary soldier and very demanding in service. It is these commanders who are called commanders.’

There has been no official announcement of Zidko’s death. Zidko’s biography published in Tass does not mention the period he served as a commander in Ukraine.

It is alleged that assumed command of Russian forces in Ukraine shortly after Russia’s failed attempt to seize Kiev was abandoned last spring, the Conflict Intelligence Team reported in May 2022.

The appointment was never officially confirmed, but in June 2022, Zhidko was seen sitting next to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during the minister’s visit to forces involved in the war in Ukraine, which appeared to confirm Zhidko’s appointment as the top roll.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said at the time that Zidko’s appointment was “a drastic step” as he was a civilian officer and not a unit commander tasked with leading troops. In his previous tenure, he headed the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, a body responsible for the ideological indoctrination and morale of the Russian military. While in this role, he was also Russia’s deputy defense minister.

According to Tass, Zhidko previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, a role for which he was awarded the Hero of the Russian Federation, Russia’s highest honor.

According to ISW, Zidko was fired as operations commander and head of the Eastern Military District in October after Ukraine quickly liberated territory during the Kharkiv counteroffensive.

Russia’s Defense Ministry named General Sergei Surovykin as its new commander-in-chief for operations in the war in October 2022. Surovykin has not been seen in public since the Wagner mutiny in June.