Russia is believed to have reorganized its military leadership in Ukraine by appointing General Alexander Dvornikov as its new commander, according to reports. Western officials told the BBC that Dvornikov, a general who played a key role in the Russian bombing of Syria, was led by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dvornikov has been tasked with “improving coordination between Russian forces in Ukraine,” the agency said. The move comes as Russia shifts its focus to Ukraine’s Donbass region after its invasion stopped in much of the country. The Kremlin hopes that the experienced Alexander Dvornikov, who is currently the Commander-in-Chief of Russia’s Southern Military District, could restore the honor of the Russian army after its destruction on the road to Kyiv. Russian forces have suffered heavy casualties since launching their invasion of Ukraine, and reports indicate that morale is deteriorating.
A veteran of Russia’s bloody campaign in Syria
Dvornikov joined the Soviet Army in 1978 and continued to command many regiments in the Russian army. In September 2015, he became the first commander of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria, during Putin’s military intervention in support of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Dvornikov was honored with the title of Hero of the Russian Federation in 2016 for his leadership in Syria, the highest military distinction in the country. A UN inquiry into the atrocities committed in Syria has said Russia is partly responsible for war crimes due to indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas without a “specific military target”. After his stay in Syria, Dvornikov was appointed Commander of the Southern Military District. A report by the Institute for War Studies said Dvornikov relied on his experience in Syria to “reorganize the Southern Military District into a joint force capable of operating effectively on land, sea and air.” Smoke rises from a Russian tank destroyed by Ukrainian forces on the side of a road in the Luhansk region on February 26, 2022. ANATOLII STEPANOV / AFP via Getty Images The change of leadership could be seen as a “sign of Russian weakness,” Guithian Prince, a military strategy expert advising NATO, told the BBC. Prince noted that Russia has lost several of its top commanders in Ukraine, including Colonel Andrei Mordvichov and Lieutenant General Yakov Rezanchev. “Well, yes, they brought in a well-known bomber, they came back from the failed blitzkrieg strategy that was going to happen, and now they’re back in terror of the people with the crash – and Mr. Dvornikov is very good at that,” he said. Prince. The Ukrainian leadership and Western experts believe that Russia is ready to launch a new attack on Donbas, in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Friday of a conflict that could lead to the biggest war in centuries. Speaking to the German newspaper BILD, owned by Axel Springer, the parent company of Insider, Zelenskyy predicted intense fighting in the coming days. “It could be a big war in Donbass – as people have not seen in hundreds of years,” Paul Ronzheimer told BILD. “We will continue to defend our country until the end,” he said.
