President Vladimir Putin has appointed General Sergey Surovik to lead the war effort in Ukraine amid a series of military setbacks and growing resentment in Russia over its neighbor’s occupation.
The appointment on Saturday follows the dismissal of two top Russian military commanders as Kiev regains territory lost to Russia in northeastern and southern Ukraine.
The appointment also comes as Moscow has suffered a major blow following the partial destruction of the Kerch Bridge – a key link between Russia and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
But who is Surovikin?
The general, born in 1966 in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, was announced as the head of Russia’s southern military group in its war against Ukraine in June.
He received the title Hero of Russia and was awarded a medal for his service in Syria in 2017, where he led the Russian military expedition as commander of the Air Force.
He is known for being downright “ruthless” in the Russian military, according to a report (PDF) by the Jamestown Foundation, a US defense policy think tank.
Surovikin was imprisoned twice.
The first time was six months after soldiers under his command killed three demonstrators in the Russian capital, Moscow, during the August 1991 coup that preceded the end of the Soviet Union.
He was later released without trial. Four years later, he received a conviction – later overturned – for illegal arms trafficking.
The general was accused of overseeing a brutal bombardment that destroyed much of the Syrian city of Aleppo, where Russia intervened to side with Bashar al-Assad.
In a report published in October 2020, Human Rights Watch listed him as one of the commanders “who may bear command responsibility for violations” during the 2019-2020 offensive in Syria’s Idlib.