General Corella, commander of the US Central Command, succeeding McKenzie

US Army General Michael Corella takes command of US Central Command (CENTCOM) from outgoing General Kenneth McKenzie.

This came in a statement published on Friday on the website of the US Central Command, which is responsible for the military region of the Middle East, as well as South and Central Asia.

The US Central Command handover ceremony was held in Tampa, Florida, and was attended by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Austin emphasized that "US Central Command will continue to thrive at this difficult time under the reliable leadership of General Corella, in a region where the situation remains difficult and dangerous."

McKenzie has been responsible for the US Central Command since March 2019. Under his leadership in particular, the withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan was carried out last year, and the operation to eliminate the leader of ISIS, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in October 2019, was carried out, as well as the implementation of the offensive of the forces US air force near Baghdad airport in January 2020, which resulted in the assassination of the commander of the Quds Force in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, General Qassem Soleimani.

Bumper: TASS

Martin Griffiths visits Moscow April 3 to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that his deputy, Martin Griffiths, will visit Moscow on April 3 to discuss the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Guterres told reporters, today, Friday, that "Martin Griffiths will go to Moscow on Sunday, and then he will visit Kyiv."

"This means that we have not abandoned efforts to stop the confrontation in Ukraine and in any other region of the world," he added.

The Secretary-General had announced earlier that the United Nations was seeking to achieve a humanitarian truce in Ukraine. He also expressed his hope for progress in the ongoing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

Source: TASS