Russia’s appointment of Army General Alexander Dvornikov to lead the war in Ukraine “represents an attempt to centralise command and control,” the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said in its daily defense intelligence update on Twitter, following weeks of slow progress and botched operations for Russian forces.
Dvornikov has commanded troops in Syria and eastern Ukraine, and is credited with stabilizing Syria’s Assad regime via a campaign of bombing urban and civilian areas to create as much damage as possible.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is offering a prisoner swap with Russia, saying he will hand over captured Putin ally Viktor Medvedchuk in exchange for Ukrainians detained by Russian forces, many of whom have been forcibly taken to Russia.
President Joe Biden meanwhile has called Putin’s actions in Ukraine a “genocide,” and economists predict a potential financial shock for Europe over the rupture in trade with Russia, particularly if that rupture involves Germany.