MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax-AVN) - A new commander of the Russian military contingent within SFOR will be introduced to subordinates on Thursday.
" Lieutenant General Valery Yevnevich, Russian Land Forces deputy commander in charge of peacekeeping troops, will head for Bosnia on Thursday to introduce the new commander of the contingent, Colonel Sergei Shakurin," a source in the Land Forces Command told Interfax-Military News Agency.
Shakurin was born in the Mogilev region of Belarus in 1963. He graduated from the Leningrad higher joint-arms command college in 1985 and Armed Forces Joint-Arms Academy in 2000. He served in the Airborne Troops. Prior to his current appointment, Shakurin was chief-of-staff and deputy commander of a separate brigade stationed in the Leningrad military district. He gained experience in combat operations in Afghanistan and Chechnya.
The Russian military headquartered in Ugljevic have been part of SFOR since January 1996. They accomplish peacekeeping missions in northeastern Bosnia. The military contingent was set up in June this year as a result of the reduction of the 1st separate airborne brigade of the Land Forces. The contingent numbers 260 servicemen, over 150 vehicles and pieces of ordnance.
"Colonel Sergei Prokoshev, who previously led the contingent, will be appointed to a new post in the near future," the source said.