Russia appoints new general to oversee Ukraine invasion

Ukrainian woman reacts to Russian bombing of Chernihiv

(Image credit: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

published 9 April 2022

Russia has appointed Gen. Alexander Dvornikov, who commands Russia's southern military district and "has a lot of experience" from "Russian operations in Syria," to oversee the war in Ukraine, a Western official said Friday, according to BBC.

The Russian intervention in Syria was notoriously brutal, and foreign policy analyst Rula Jebreal said Dvornikov's appointment likely signals an "expansion" of Russia's "terror campaign" against Ukraine.

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Prior to Dvornikov's appointment, Western officials reportedly believed there was no single battlefield commander overseeing the Russian invasion. The New York Times reported late last month on the intelligence community's consensus that "the men making decisions are far from the fight, back in Moscow: Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu; Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the general staff of the Russian military; and even President Vladimir V. Putin."

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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