Putin names new head of Russian Aerospace Forces. General Cheaiko is suspected of war crimes in Syria and Ukraine
Colonel-General Aleksandr Ceaiko was appointed as the new commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which includes the air defense and anti-missile defense forces, according to information published on Monday by the Russian portal RBC, quoted by EFE.
Cheaiko, whose appointment has not yet been officially confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense, would thus replace General Viktor Afzalov. Born in 1971 in the Moscow region, Ceaiko served in the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, reports Agerpres.
Since 2015, he has participated in the Russian military operation in Syria. According to the pro-government newspaper Izvestia, Ceaiko was awarded the title of Hero of Russia by a secret decree in 2020.
Sanctioned by the EU for the Bucea massacre
In March, the Russian general was sanctioned by the European Union along with other Russian commanders whom Kiev considers responsible for the massacre in Bucea, at the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
Ceaiko was also included on a British sanctions list for participating in the war in Syria. The Russian general's methods applied in Syria were criticized, in particular, by the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.
In Ukraine, Cheaiko is accused of violating the territorial integrity and inviolability of the country, as well as planning, preparing, initiating and waging an aggressive war. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Colonel-General Cheaiko was directly involved in the preparation and invasion of the northern regions of Ukraine at the beginning of the war in February 2022.
In addition, Ukrainian investigators believe that Cheaiko gave a direct order to use attack aircraft on multi-story residential buildings in the town of Borodianka in early March 2022. According to the General Prosecutor's Office, Russian airstrikes then destroyed six apartment buildings and killed more than 30 people.
Change due to Ukrainian attacks
Putin decided to replace the commander of the Aerospace Forces, responsible, among other things, for anti-aircraft defense, after a series of Ukrainian drone attacks that Russian anti-aircraft could not repel, notes the independent Russian publication The Moscow Times on Monday.
At the end of March, Russia's largest oil ports on the Baltic Sea were attacked by Ukrainians with drones, leading to a halt in Russian crude oil exports. In April, oil facilities in Russia were attacked more than 20 times: at least nine refineries were affected, five of which were temporarily shut down, causing the country's oil refining to fall to its lowest level since 2009.
The port and oil refinery in Tuapse were hit four times, where tens of thousands of tons of oil and oil products burned, and an “oil rain” fell on the city, with huge amounts of fuel spilling into the sea.
On April 30, the situation was repeated in Perm, where Transneft's storage tanks and the Permnefteorgsintez refinery, the seventh largest in Russia, were affected.
Due to the threat of drones, the Kremlin had to shorten the Victory Day parade in Moscow: for the first time since 2009, it will take place without military equipment. The Red Square parade will last less than an hour, instead of the traditional hour and a half. For security reasons, deputies of the State Duma (lower chamber) will not be able to sit in the stands.
