Sergey Surovikin is a Syrian veteran
An experienced warrior and a far-sighted commander, for whom concepts such as patriotism, honor and dignity are always above all else. This is how Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov described the new commander-in-chief of the Russian military forces in Ukraine, Sergey Surovikin, wishing him luck and success in his service, RIA Novosti reported. “The troops are now in good hands,” he concluded.
On Saturday, exactly one day after President Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed General Surovikin as commander of the grouping of forces in the so-called special military operation. He is the second senior Russian military officer with combat experience in Syria who has been assigned responsibility for the actions and strategies of the troops in Ukraine. In April, the command was taken over by General Alexander Dvornikov, but he was unable to keep the post.
Kadyrov and the founder of the Wagner private military group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, welcomed Shoigu’s decision, which is an important step amid recent criticism of them, provoked by the failures of Russian troops in Ukraine. Kadyrov expressed hope that Surovikin, whom he has known personally for nearly 15 years, “will improve the situation on the front line” where Russian troops are failing.
Surovikin began his career as an officer by going to fight in Afghanistan. He is a veteran commander who led the Russian military operation in Syria in 2017. He has been accused of using “controversial” tactics, including indiscriminate bombing of anti-government fighters. There he gets his terrible nickname Armageddon.
He was awarded the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” for his courage and heroism while performing military service in Syria. He was also awarded the Order of “St. George IV degree”, “Courage”, “For Combat Merits” and a number of medals. Over the years he has also served in Chechnya and Tajikistan.
Surovikin has been the head of the aerospace forces of the Russian Federation since 2017. He also commanded the Russian Yug group in the Ukrainian military zone before leading all Russian forces on Ukrainian territory.
During the 1991 coup attempt by Soviet hardliners, Surovikin, then captain, led an infantry division that broke the barricades erected by pro-democracy protesters. Three men were killed in the clash, one of whom was crushed, remembers the “Guardian”.
His appointment could be interpreted as Moscow’s understanding that its military is in danger of collapsing in Ukraine, with Kiev forces advancing in all four regions that Putin claims to have annexed.
Yet Surovikin has a controversial history that includes two jail terms for allegedly selling arms and for leading a military convoy against protesters during the 1991 coup.
“For more than 30 years, Surovikin’s career has been haunted by allegations of corruption and brutality,” British intelligence said.
By naming the controversial figure, experts say, the Kremlin could try to counter criticism from nationalists who accused the military of mishandling the war in Ukraine and not using harsh tactics to try to force the Kiev government to obey. .
