MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Colonel General Viktor Afzalov has been appointed new commander-in-chief of Russia’s Aerospace Forces to succeed Army General Sergey Surovikin, a source close to the Aerospace Forces told TASS on Friday.

"Colonel General Afzalov has become the new commander-in-chief of the Aerospace Forces," the source said.

Prior to his appointment, Afzalov was acting commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Afzalov was born on June 9, 1968. He graduated from the Pushkin Higher School of Air Defense Radionics in 1989, the Military University of Air Defense in 2000, and the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces in 2010. In July 2017, he was appointed commander of the air force army and air defense of the Eastern Military District. In August 2018, he ascended to chief of the Main Staff of the Russian Aerospace Forces.