JAKARTA - Western officials surprisingly named a general who led Russian forces in Syria responsible for the Moscow Army's recent advances in Ukraine.
General Sergei Surovikin is believed to be the strategist in charge of the Russian troops, "making real progress" in the war on the two recently captured cities of Donbas.
General Surovikin, 55, is said by western sources to have used "controversial" tactics against Syrian rebels during his time as Russia's longest-serving commander there.
A few weeks ago, he replaced General Alexander Dvornikov, who appears to have lost the trust of President Vladimir Putin, after slow progress and heavy losses in Ukraine.
"Russia has made some significant command changes in recent weeks, most notably Army General Sergei Surovikin, who has taken command of the Southern Troops Group, which oversees the occupation of southern Ukraine and advances in Donbas from the south," the Western official said. July 7th.
"He is a controversial figure, even by the standards of Russian general officers," he continued.
"It is not clear whether his influence has led to the recent successes around Lysychansk, but there is certainly better cooperation among troop groups on the Russian side than we saw in the early phases of the war," he said.
President Vladimir Putin on Monday congratulated troops for "liberating" Lysychansk and told them to rest.
The appointment of General Surovikin in Syria was a turning point in the conflict, and the government of Bashar Al Assad regained control of more than 50 percent of the country.
Military analysts attribute the advance of Syrian government forces and their allies, to the subtle but tough tactics of General Surovikin, who became a Hero of the Russian Federation under his leadership.
The official said General Surovkin's experience as a military officer and commander of the Russian Air Force, made him a significant threat to Ukrainian forces.
"He has been in air service for a period of time, which is unusual for an army general," the official said
"It's all about integrating combined arms and using totally different services to create an effect, which you would expect from his experience in Syria and across these services to bring some benefit in that regard. He has a long pedigree."
On Wednesday, Britain's Ministry of Defence said the general's 30-year career was "filled with allegations of corruption and brutality".
The official said Russia had "gained some momentum back in recent weeks" and was "consolidating beyond the defensible line of the Donets River".
But Ukraine has resisted "rearguard action in a 25-mile [40-kilometer] wide protrusion. Ukrainian forces have now withdrawn and created a straight front."
The struggle to defend the line "is likely to have a profound effect on the eventual fate of the Donets oblast," he said.
"We pay special attention to the potential of Sloviansk to become the site of the next big battle," the official said.
However, Ukraine's military has made the withdrawal in "relatively good order", thus "presertaining some of its troops who are better able to fight another day".
The official added that long-range weapons supplied by western powers are influential in Russia but have not been shown to be decisive in stopping Moscow's advance.
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