"The Butcher from Syria": Who is the new general in charge of the Russian victory in Ukraine?

Alexander Dvornikov has a long history of military achievements that rely on Soviet doctrines that see the extermination of civilians and civilian goals as a means to achieve victory.

He is now overseeing the Russian campaign in Ukraine

Tali Goldstein

12/04/2022

Tuesday, 12 April 2022, 12:51 Updated: 13:02

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He is known for his "total disregard" for the Geneva Convention, does not refrain from harming civilians during war and ignores all international laws of war.

According to the Pentagon, his tactics in Syria were so violent that he earned the dubious nickname "the butcher from Syria."

Meet Alexander Dvornikov - the 60-year-old general appointed a few days ago by Russian President Vladimir Putin to lead the campaign in eastern Ukraine.

Putin's decision to establish a new leadership on the battlefield comes as Russian forces prepare for what is estimated to be a more targeted offensive in the eastern Ukrainian province of Donbas, following a failed attempt to occupy the capital Kyiv.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Reuters)

Nationalist from the Soviet school

Perceived as an old-school and "nationalist believer in blood and soil," Dvornikov was educated on Soviet doctrines that see the extermination of civilians and civilian goals a means to achieve victory.

He is now overseeing the campaign in Ukraine amid a growing number of dead civilians, widespread destruction and slow Russian progress due to logistical problems and military failures.

In addition, before the appointment of Dvornikov, there was not a single military leader who commanded all the Russian forces.

Putin seems to be hoping that the lack of cohesion will change under Dvornikov, who previously commanded Russia's southern military district - a key role he accepted after serving as the first commander of the Russian air campaign in Syria.

"The appointment of the new general indicates Vladimir Putin's intention to continue the confrontation for months or even years," Reservist Admiral James Steveridis told NBC this week.

"He was the thug summoned by Putin to territory cities like Aleppo in Syria. He used terrorism at the time, including collaborating with the Syrian army, setting up torture centers, systematically using rape and nerve gas. He is the worst of all," he added.

Dvornikov also has extensive experience in the Ukrainian Donbas district, which Moscow has set as its main destination at present.

This experience and the period in which he served in Syria are two key factors in his past.

Assisted Assad in Syria

In 2015, Dvornikov established an air base near a beach in the northwest of the country.

From this base came the bombers who flattened cities throughout Idlib province.

The fall of the second largest city in Syria, Aleppo, is an achievement of Russian airstrikes, which did not stop the attack on hospitals, schools, food distribution queues and other civilian public institutions.

The anti-aircraft batteries installed by Dvornikov gave Russian and Syrian aircraft air superiority over Idlib, and the area was subjected to daily bombing for five years.

Dvornikov is also responsible for the Russian campaign against ISIS in eastern Syria.

Although Russian involvement in Syria began with claims to aid in the war against Islamist terrorists who had become much stronger, the first airstrikes by Russian planes did not focus on ISIS or the Islamist organization Jabhat al-Nusra, but on regime opposition groups attacking Syrian military convoys in Syria.

In fact, it was the Russian offensive that changed the situation in the war in favor of Assad.

The Russians have denied harming civilian infrastructure as a way to subdue the population, and Syrian propaganda has pointed the finger of blame at jihadist organizations.

Dvornikov's campaign in Syria was crowned a success by Putin, who in 2016 awarded him the medal "Hero of the Russian Federation" - one of the most prestigious decorations in the country.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Official Website, Official Website)

The Ukrainian challenge

Ukraine is a completely different battlefield.

The Russian Air Force does not control the sky and the infantry encountered fierce resistance and advanced weapons not in the hands of the Syrian rebels in 2015.

The Kremlin certainly wants Dvornikov to replicate his success in Syria by May 9, a national holiday in Russia to mark the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

"Victory Day" is one of the most important holidays in Russia.

During it, a military parade is held - and the president delivers a celebratory speech.

Putin will likely want to draw parallel lines between the 1945 victory and his commitment to destroy "Nazi" Ukraine, he said.

Many in the West believe that the Russian army, under Dvornikov's command, will receive the green light to attack civilians indiscriminately in order to achieve the target, similar to Syria.

Dvornikov is an "interesting but not surprising choice," Mark Glaotti, an honorary professor at the University College of London, told the Washington Post this week, in light of his experience and reputation as a creative, innovative commander "capable of dealing with new and unfamiliar situations."

However, according to White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, "no appointment now can erase the fact that Russia is already facing a failure in Ukraine."

Sullivan, who was interviewed on Sunday for CNN's State of the Nation program, added that "this general has a resume that includes cruelty to the citizens of Syria. We can only expect more of the same."

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