Surovikin, a brutal general at the head of Russian operations

With his imposing physique and reputation as a brutal soldier, the new leader of the Russian forces in Ukraine is, for the nationalists, the man who could bring down kyiv. General Sergei Surovikin set the tone as soon as he was appointed, pouring a rain of missiles on Ukraine. On the Russian television channels, the bombardments and the arrival of the general arouse glowing comments. Vladimir Putin presented him in 2017 with the highest honor, the title of Hero of the Russian Federation. A reward following the military support given to the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria.

For opponents, he mainly ordered massive bombardments, on areas where civilians lived, such as in Idlib (Syria), in September 2018. His feats of arms began in 1991, during the attempted coup d’etat to overthrow Mikhail Gorbachev. He is then on the hard side of the Communist Party, and orders his men to fire on barricades. The death toll is three. In the 2000s, during the second Chechen war, he became known for his “scorched earth” technique. In Ukraine, he had been head of the military group deployed in the South since the summer. At 55, he has become the leader of the whole system.