Darling of the hardliners – this is Putin’s new Ukraine commander

Berlin For Vladimir Putin, brute force is now supposed to turn the tide in the Ukraine war. At least that’s how one could interpret the appointment of Sergey Surovikin, who was appointed overall commander of Russian troops in Ukraine.

The 56-year-old, who led the Russian air force for a long time, is known for his particularly brutal approach. He is therefore nicknamed “General Armageddon”.

So far in the Ukraine war, Surovikin has led the Southern Group of Troops that captured the city of Sieverodonetsk in the Luhansk region. He was also responsible for the troops in the south of the country.

His appointment is particularly pleasing to Russian hardliners, who have recently criticized Putin more and more openly for the lack of successes in the war and are calling for the war to be expanded to include the use of nuclear weapons. The influential head of the mercenary group Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin called “legendary” and that he was a role model that all Russians should emulate.