Who is Sergei Surovikin, the “General Armageddon” wanted by Putin at the head of the war in Ukraine

Sergei Surovkin is the new commander of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

he is the man who put on wanted to lead the war after the flaws in the field of your troops.

“Surovikin’s appointment likely reflects an effort by the Russian national security community to improve the execution of the operation. scarce resources to achieve the political goals that were set in Ukraine,” British intelligence wrote today in its daily update on developments in the ongoing war.

Why Surovikin is called General Armageddon

But who is Surovikin?

Let’s start by saying that it doesn’t have a good reputation.

Nicknamed “general armageddon”, for his uncompromising approach to warfare, often brutal AND Not conventional, is known to have led Syria a series of air and ground attacks on civilian infrastructure, according to a report by the Human Rights Observatory 2020, including “houses, schools, health facilities and markets, places where people live, work and study”. Fifty-six years in a few days, this mission earned him the recognition of Hero of the Russian Federation.

That’s what he replied yesterday in Ukraine, when a hail of missiles fell on Kiev and in other cities killing 19 people and injuring 105 others.

The beginning of the military career

His rise, in the early 2000s, began parallel to that of Putin, with leadership positions from Chechnya to the Armed Forces Headquarters flyfrom the Urals to the rooms of the Ministry of Defense, where he was responsible for organizing the Military Police.

There are some points on your resume. The most famous one dates from 2004, when he was accused of having beaten the Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Chibizovwhile the month following colonel Andrei Shtakal a shot was fired in front of him after some of his alleged criticism.

Surovikin’s Challenge in Ukraine

Surovikin’s main challenge in Ukraine, experts say, will be solving the structural problems facing the Russian military, which faces a fierce Ukrainian counteroffensive. “He is very cruel, but he is also a competent commander,” he told Guardian Gleb Irisov, a former Air Force lieutenant who worked with Surovikin until 2020, adding: “However, he will not be able to solve every problem. weapons and work”.

But the choice of Surovikin also served to appease Putin. criticism arrived in recent days by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and by the head of the private military company Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin, who welcomed his appointment as head of the military operation.