A US official confirmed the move to the media on Sunday. Until now, Russia has not had a central warlord on the ground. The appointment of the 60-year-old general sparked US predictions that he would commit more “war crimes” and “barbarism” against Ukrainian civilians. Jake Sullivan, a U.S. national security adviser, made the claim in an interview with CNN – but gave no details. The general is known as the “Syrian butcher” for destroying his troops during the Syrian civil war, when Russia backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a battle with the rebels. In 2015, Dvornikov became the first commander of the Russian army at the beginning of his involvement in the civil war – for which he was awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” the following year. During the Russian-led invasion of Syria, an estimated 10,000 bombings ravaged cities and towns across the country – mainly Aleppo and Homs – and destroyed key infrastructure such as hospitals and water sources. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Alexander Dvornikov (Alexei Nikolsky / Sputnik, Photo of the Kremlin pool via AP) In 2020, Vladimir Putin promoted Dvornikov to the rank of general. Dvornikov has now been appointed head of military operations during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sir Roderic Lyne, Britain’s former ambassador to Russia, told Sky News that Russia had appointed Dvornikov “to try to gain at least some territory in Donetsk” in eastern Ukraine, which would be an achievement for the Putin regime. “My fear is that Dvornikov has orders that if he can not occupy eastern Ukraine, he will turn it into a giant Aleppo,” Harry Kazianis, a US military analyst at the Center for National Interest, told the Telegraph. A military analyst from Moscow, who did not want to be named, said: “Dvornikov is known as a ruthless commander and will develop tactics used in Syria now in Ukraine. He was in Chechnya 20 years ago. “It is about liberating cities, turning them into ruins.” Dvornikov is said to be behind a bomb attack on the Kramatorsk train station earlier this week that killed at least 52 people, including five children, for which Russia has denied responsibility. The Independent has a proud campaign history for the rights of the most vulnerable and we first launched our “Welcome Refugees” campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and start this report on In the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we call on the government to move faster and faster to secure aid. To learn more about our Refugee Campaign, click here. To sign the application click here. If you would like to donate, click here for our GoFundMe page.
