Russian Colonel General Rustam Muradov, commander of the Eastern Military District and Commander of the Southern Grouping of Forces (Vostok) has reportedly been relieved from his position due to the massive failure at the battle for Vuhledar in which more than (30) armored vehicles were destroyed in the span of 24-48 hours.

On 26 March 2023, it was reported in Russian media that Muradov was demoted from his position as Commander of Eastern Military District. While this news was not officially confirmed by the Russian government, head of Russian investigative channel Rybar, Mikhail Zvinchuk, stated that Muradov had been given a vacation that is “almost tantamount to resignation”.

Following this, it was reported by Russian war correspondents that he had been replaced as acting commander of the Eastern Military District by lieutenant general Andrey Kuzmenko despite officially remaining at its his post.

He was current Commander of the Eastern Military District since October 5, 2022. He was the Deputy Commander of the Southern Military District since December 2018 until October 2022. He was awarded the title Hero of the Russian Federation in 2017