Russian President, Vladimir Putin, appoints a new general, Alexander Dvornikov, for supervising warfare in the country.

According to a US official and a European official, Army General Alexander Dvornikov, the head of Russia’s Southern Military District, has been named theatre commander of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Dvornikov was the first commander of Russia’s military operations in Syria when President Vladimir Putin dispatched soldiers to the country in September 2015 to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

During Dvornikov’s leadership in Syria, from September 2015 to June 2016, Russian planes assisted the Assad regime and its allies.

They laid siege to rebel-held eastern Aleppo, bombing heavily populated areas and killing a large number of civilians. In December 2016, Syrian government forces took control of the city.

He served in Russia’s long pacification campaign in the north Caucasus for two years, including the Second Chechen War, which left Chechnya’s regional capital, Grozny, in ruins.

Russian soldiers have employed a similar heavy-handed approach in parts of Ukraine, striking residential buildings in key cities and demolishing much of Mariupol, the Ukrainian port city.

In March 2016, Kremlin honoured Dvornikov with the title of “Hero of the Russian Federation” for his contributions.

The nomination of a new general commander to handle Russia’s war in Ukraine appears to be an attempt to address another issue plaguing that is a lack of coordination.