USA interpreted this Sunday the appointment of a new Russian general to coordinate the war in Ukraine as a sign that more are to come “atrocities” and acts ofbrutality” once morest Ukrainian civilians.
Senior officials in the White House reacted in this way to the arrival in command of the Russian offensive of Alexander Dvornikovtanned in the war in Syria and current head of the southern military district, which includes the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
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“This general, in particular, has a history that includes brutality once morest civilians in other settings, in Syria, and we can expect more of the same in this setting.”said Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser to the president of USA, Joe Biden.
In an interview with the television network CNN, Sullivan predicted that Dvornikov “He will be yet another perpetrator of crimes and brutality once morest Ukrainian civilians.”
A TRUSTED GENERAL IN CHECHENYA AND SYRIA
White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki also assured in an interview with Fox News that the Russian general “is responsible for atrocities” in Syria, and opined that his designation implies that there will be a “continuation” of that kind of “brutality” in Ukraine.
Russia does not usually publicize its changes in military command and has not confirmed that it has entrusted this new role to Dvornikovwhich made its name in the Second Chechen War (2000), the contest that brought President Vladimir Putin to power.
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It is US and Western sources that have reported the change of command in the Russian offensive in Ukraine, now concentrated in the eastern region of Donbas following failing to take kyiv and other areas of the country in the first phase of the war.
Dvornikovwho was decorated by Putin for his military services in 2016, allegedly has a deadline to take Donbas until May 9, the Day of the Victory of the USSR over Nazi Germany, according to Western experts and sources.
“Scorched Earth” Tactics
Sullivan said this Sunday that, although this appointment does not lead to optimism, his arrival will not necessarily mean a major escalation in the atrocities in Ukraine, since these have already occurred since the beginning of the war a month and a half ago.
“We have already seen scorched earth military tactics (in Ukraine), we have seen atrocities and war crimes and mass executions and horrific and shocking images of places like Bucha, and the missile attack on Kramatorsk (train station)”Sullivan said in another interview with CBS News.
“So I think this is a sign that we’re going to see more of that.”he added.
Biden’s adviser also stressed that the United States is “determined to do everything possible to support the Ukrainians while they resist once morest him (Dvornikov) and the soldiers he leads.”
“No appointment of any general can erase the fact that Russia has already had a strategic failure in Ukraine (…). Ukraine will never be subjugated by Russia; It doesn’t matter which general President Putin tries to appoint.”Sullivan stressed on CNN.
As the Ukrainian authorities insist they need more weapons to deal with Russia’s final offensive once morest Donbas, which they have already begun, Sullivan underlined the extent of the military aid that the United States has already provided to Ukraine.
A PLAN TO MEET THE REQUESTS OF kyiv
In his interview with CBS, the adviser assured that Washington developed last week with kyiv a “plan” for Ukrainians to get “each and every thing they need” either from the United States, or from its allies in Europe and other areas.
“Some things we have already delivered, others are on the way and others we are working to achieve.“, he claimed.
In this context, Friday’s announcement that Slovakia will send its anti-aircraft defense system to Ukraine to defend itself once morest Russian planes and missiles is framed, something to which the Slovak government has agreed in exchange for the US deploying in its territory a Patriot anti-missile battery.
Sullivan also revealed that the United States is “evaluating (delivering) systems that would require some training for the Ukrainians” and is talking to kyiv regarding “how might that be done outside the country”without giving further details.
This Sunday, precisely, the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, spoke via teleconference with “a small number of Ukrainian soldiers” that they were regarding to take off for Ukraine following completing training in Biloxi (Mississippi, USA).
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby explained in a statement that the group was already in the United States receiving training when the invasion of Ukraine began in late February.
However, since the end of their official program in early March, the Ukrainian military has received tactical training “advanced” and training to usethe systems that the United States has provided to Ukraine,” including Switchblade-type drones.
