MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. The appointment of Chief of Russia’s General Staff Valery Gerasimov as commander of the Russian group of forces in Ukraine is related to the broader scope of objectives in the special military operation, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.

"The commentary [on Gerasimov’s appointment] was given by the Defense Ministry yesterday: it is linked with the expansion of the scope of objectives that will be addressed. I have nothing to add to this," the Russian presidential spokesman told reporters.

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu made new appointments in the military command of the special military operation in Ukraine on Wednesday.

Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov was appointed as commander of the integrated group of troops (forces) in Ukraine. His deputies are: Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Army General Sergey Surovikin, Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Army General Oleg Salyukov, and also Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Colonel-General Alexey Kim.

The decision to raise the level of military command in the special military operation is related "to the broader scope of missions tackled in its course and the need to organize closer coordination among military branches and services of the armed forces and also the increased quality of all types of logistics support and efficiency in command and control of the groups of troops (forces), the ministry said.