The Russian general who is now in charge of the invasion of Ukraine helped to oversee a brutal, scorched-earth campaign in Syria – that drew criticism from human rights groups.
Aleksandr V. Dvornikov was dispatched to Syria in 2015 to shore up the flagging forces of President Bashar al-Assad.
He was named a Hero of the Russian Federation for his role and is currently the commander of Russia’s southern military district.
Boris Johnson makes surprise visit to Kyiv, promises more British weapons – read more
Russian forces in Syria were widely accused of bombing civilian neighbourhoods, targeting hospitals, to try to break the back of the rebel movement.
“Bashar al-Assad is not the only one to be held accountable for killing civilians in Syria — the Russian general should too,” according to the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor based in Britain.
“As the commander of military operations, that means he’s behind killing Syrian civilians by giving the orders.”
The actions of Russian and Syrian forces over the last seven years have been labelled as war crimes by Western governments.
Key war role
General Dvornikov is accused of playing a key role in organising Russian and Syrian forces to battle the Islamic State.
One commander in a Syrian Christian militia that received support and fought alongside Russian forces in Syria said that the general had been involved in battles near the city of Deir al-Zour in the east.
The Institute for the Study of War noted that General Dvornikov emphasised the importance of increasing the speed with which data is analyzed and translated into orders to subordinates in the field.
Russian forces have been accused of lacking training, equipment and strategy in the first month of the Ukrainian invasion.
Doing business with Russia: Is it a new world order in the Asia-Pacific? read more
Russia’s lack of communications between commanders and units on the ground and flawed intelligence on the stance of Ukrainian troops appear to have contributed to its decision to withdraw from cities in Ukraine’s north.
But human rights groups are now concerned what General Dvornikov’s actions will look like in Ukraine, given his track record in Syria.
