October 15, 2022 Russia-Ukraine News


Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian Armed Forces personnel who participated in operations in Syria, including Sergey Surovikin, at the Kremlin December 28, 2017. Russian Presidency

There’s a new general in charge of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s devastating war on Ukraine – and he has a reputation for being brutal.

After Ukraine made gains in its counter-offensive in recent weeks, the Russian Defense Ministry named Sergey Surovikin its new commanding general for wartime operations.

In particular, he played a decisive role in Russian operations in Syria as Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. During these operations, Russian warplanes caused widespread devastation in the rebel-held area.

CNN spoke with a former Russian Air Force lieutenant, Gleb Irisov, who served under him in Syria.

He said Surovikin was “very close to Putin’s regime” and “never had political ambitions, so always executed a plan exactly as the government wanted.”

Analysts say that while Surovikin’s appointment is highly unlikely to change the way Russian forces wage war, it speaks to Putin’s dissatisfaction with previous command operations. It is also, in part, likely intended to appease the nationalist and pro-war base in Russia itself, according to Mason Clark, a Russia expert at the Institute for the Study of War think tank.

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who called on Russia to “take more drastic measures” including the use of “low-yield nuclear weapons” in Ukraine after recent setbacks, welcomed Surovikin’s appointment.

The praise for Kadyrov, who is a key Putin ally, is perhaps significant, as he himself is known for crushing all forms of dissent.

“They hated it”: As a former subordinate of the commander in Syria, Irisov said he saw Surovikin several times during some missions and spoke to high-ranking officers under him.

“He made a lot of people very angry – they hated him,” Irisov said, describing how the “direct” and “straight” general was hated at headquarters because of the way he was trying to implement his infantry experience in the Air Force.

Just two days after Surovikin’s appointment last Saturday, Russia launched its heaviest bombardment of Ukraine since the early days of the war.

Surovikin is “more familiar with cruise missiles, perhaps he used his connections and experience to organize this chain of devastating attacks,” Irisov said, referring to reports that cruise missiles were among the weapons deployed by Russia.

But Clark, of the Study of War think tank, suggests the general’s promotion is “more of a framing thing to inject new blood into the Russian command system” and “give that tough nationalist face”.

You can read Sarah Dean’s full report here.

malek

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