Sergei Surovikin: Russia's 'savage' new commander in Ukraine – and why his appointment could be an ominous sign of Putin's plan

Notorious for his alleged role in the use of chemical weapons in Syria and the 1991 shooting of pro-democracy protesters, Vladimir Putin's appointment of Sergei Surovikin is designed to send a clear signal to Russia and the West. By Richard Williams, news reporter Within minutes of the first reports around Monday's early morning missile strikes on the centre of Kyiv, one name began to dominate discussion of Moscow's shifting military tactics. While a severe response from Russia had been widely anticipated following explosions that caused the partial collapse of the bridge linking it to Crimea, the bombing of Ukraine's capital appeared to bear all the hallmarks of Sergei Surovikin. A military veteran who served in the Soviet Union's ultimately doomed war with Afghanistan during the 1980s, he was appointed on Saturday as the commander of Russia's invading forces in Ukraine. The 55-year-old is infamous for ordering troops to open fire on pro-democracy protesters in Moscow, when three peop