MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to appoint Admiral Alexander Moiseyev as the Navy commander-in-chief, Vice Admiral Konstantin Kabantsov as the Northern Fleet commander and Vice Admiral Sergey Pinchuk as the Black Sea Fleet commander, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"Colleagues, I congratulate you! You assume the huge responsibility that you now shoulder. I hope that you will cope with the tasks you have been assigned by the supreme commander-in-chief of the Russian Armed Forces, the Defense Ministry and, of course, the country," the ministry quoted Shoigu as saying during a conference call with military commanders.

Moiseyev was the Northern Fleet commander from 2019 and has now replaced Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov. Earlier, he was the Black Sea Fleet commander and deputy chief of the Russian General Staff.