After defeats in the occupied territories, Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a tough general to lead new attacks against Ukraine, now focused on the country’s civilian infrastructure. As Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon”, took over, entire Ukrainian cities were left in darkness.
Heavily armed with American and European weapons, Ukraine not only resisted Russian aggression but also brought setbacks to Putin. The largest occurred on Saturday (8) when an explosion destroyed a bridge in Crimea, a symbolic Russian artifact that opened in 2018, connecting the peninsula annexed in 2014 to Russian territory.
Putin’s response came two days later, with one of the sharpest attacks since the war began on February 24: at least 19 people were killed and 105 injured in yesterday’s missile bombing, according to data from the Ukrainian State Emergency Service.
Cities in the dark. Innovation in strategy was the target, now civilian infrastructure. According to Ukraine, the missiles targeted 12 regions of the country, including 11 urban centers such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Lviv. The Russians claim to have hit the Ukrainian energy system, leaving 15 of Ukraine’s 24 districts completely or partially without water and electricity.
Local emergency services said earlier this morning that some areas in Kyiv, Lviv, Sumy, Ternopil and Khmelnytsky districts remained without electricity. The public was advised not to leave the bunkers and ignore the air raid sirens.
Image: REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
City zaporizhzhyain the south it was also bombarded by 12 missiles overnight, one death and more buildings damaged, including a school.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced today that its forces have launched new attacks on “land, naval bases, military and energy facilities in Ukraine.”
Who is “General Armageddon”? The change in strategy came on Saturday after the Crimean bridge was blown up and Kiev recaptured territory lost to Russia in the north-east and south of the country. That day, Putin dismissed two senior military commanders and called the feared Sergei Surovikin: “General Armageddon.”
The new warlord on Ukrainian soil is known for failing to protect civilian infrastructure in attacks described as “absolutely brutal, with little regard for human life.”
In a 2020 report by Human Rights Watch, a report on Surovikin’s role in the Syrian War (from 2015 to present), “air strikes” in defense of Moscow’s interests have hit homes, schools, health facilities, and Syrian markets. Time—that’s what he says. where people live, work, and study”.
Just yesterday morning, Surovikin repeated the directions for the rocket he used in Syria, and aimed the rockets at civilian targets across Ukraine, including a road junction near a university and a children’s playground.
It became known in 1991. Surovikin gained national recognition when, during the Soviet-initiated coup attempt in 1991, he led a marine division that advanced against pro-democracy protesters, leaving three dead.
But in 2004 his feared reputation grew. That year, Russian media reported that a colonel under his command committed suicide after Surovikin’s condemnation. He has since earned the nickname “General Armageddon”, which has only been reinforced by his leadership in Syria.
“I wasn’t surprised to see what happened,” a former Defense Ministry official told the British newspaper The Guardian. “Surovikin is absolutely ruthless, with little regard for human life. I’m afraid his hands will be completely covered in Ukrainian blood.”
According to the newspaper, experts say that Surovikin’s main challenge will be to solve the structural problems of the Russian army, which is facing a strong Ukrainian counterattack.
Gleb Irisov, a former Air Force lieutenant who worked with Surovikin until 2020, said the new general is one of the few soldiers who “knows how to oversee and optimize the different branches of the Army.”
“But it will not solve all the problems. Russia has a shortage of weapons and manpower,” he told the newspaper.
the world wants calm
After the Russian attack, Western leaders called for restraint. US President Joe Biden condemned the bombing of civilians and promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would continue to provide anti-aircraft defense.
UN secretary-general António Guterres criticized what he called an “unacceptable escalation”, and even Russia’s main ally, China, urged Russians and Ukrainians to refrain from escalating the war.
Russian retaliation is not only due to the destruction of the Crimean bridge. He was defeated in the occupied territories in Moscow, Kharkov, Kherson and Donetsk. The last two regions, as well as Zaporijia and Lugansk, were annexed by Putin in a decree that the international community objected to.
*With CNN, BBC, The Guardian and agencies
source: Noticias
