Russian General Dvornikov, massacre from Chechnya to Donbass – Liberation

The Kremlin has appointed Aleksandr Dvornikov to lead the offensive in southeastern Ukraine and allow Vladimir Putin to claim victory before the symbolic date of May 9. His track record, particularly in Syria, earned him a horrendous reputation.

Seen from Moscow, he is the man for the job. General Aleksandr Dvornikov, 60, has been chosen to lead Russia’s next offensive in Ukraine, according to the BBC and Sky News. This officer, the only army general to lead a military district, has been in charge of southern Russia’s since 2016. Crimea, the Donbass and the Rostov-on-Don region, in other words, he knows the place. Within hours or days, Dvornikov will be tasked with launching the next Russian offensive in Ukraine with one mission: to conquer all of Donbass. For this, the soldier will have to improve communication between the different districts, which was missing during the first offensive launched on February 24.

cannon fodder

It’s time to prepare. For several days, troops have been gathering on Ukraine’s southeastern border. The offensive on Mariupol, which is nearing its end, will certainly mark the start of this second operation. However, the general’s mission has several limitations. First time. Dvornikov will have to complete his operation, inevitably victorious, in less than a month, before May 9, the day on which the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany is commemorated. May 9 is the pinnacle of Russian patriotism, celebrated with a military parade and then a civilian parade; Russian President Vladimir Putin will have to present a victory there. The victory will be in the conquest of the entire Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the boundaries of which have changed little since the start of the operation. The Russian army, which is busy and laborious in Ukraine’s major cities, has so far relied on the cannon fodder of inexperienced adults mobilized in the separatist areas and militia members of the paramilitary organization Wagner to try to push the Ukrainian front north.

In eight years, the Ukrainian military has created a line of contact that is difficult to break, leaving much of the Donetsk region to be conquered by Russia. But General Dvornikov will not have to content himself with taking the region: he will have to demilitarize it, in the words of the Kremlin, by trapping as many Ukrainian soldiers as possible. The scenario is known in advance because the Kremlin’s hardliners have been dreaming of it since 2014. While these warmongers have been getting excited and crying foul every time the Kremlin hinted that the military operation might end, Dvornikov will offer them their pride on a platter on May 9.

National Awards

Aleksandr Dvornikov also makes experts enthusiastic about the Syrian issue. Because the soldier is not known to be in the lace, much less because of his attachment to the rules of war. Since the start of the Russian military operation in Syria, he has also been the commander of the group of Russian armed forces present there. By 2015, Russian forces in Syria were largely under his command accused by NGOs from bombing civilian neighborhoods and attacking hospitals. On the New York TimesFor example, Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, believes that: “Bashar al-Assad is not alone in being blamed for the killing of civilians in Syria: General Aleksandr Dvornikov should be too. As a commander of military operations, that means he stands behind the killing of Syrian civilians.”

Needless to say, Dvornikov has the resume that’s right for the job. He was born in 1961 in Oussouriisk, in the Far East, before going to Moscow to study, where he received his diploma with honors from the Higher School of Combined Arms Command. In 1982, he served in the Far East Military District as a platoon commander, company commander and battalion chief of staff. From 1995 to 2000, he was the commander of a motorized rifle regiment in the Moscow military district. While Second Chechen War in full swing, he was later appointed commander of a motorized rifle division in the North Caucasus Military District. Of course, with such a career comes the honor of the nation. The general was awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” in 2016 and was appointed General of the Army in 2020. While the first intervention of the Russian army in Ukraine raised many questions about his real capabilities, General Dvornikov will be in charge during the several weeks allotted to him, this time to act quickly and efficiently.