Sullivan: New Russian commander has history of brutality against civilians

WASHINGTON — White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday warned that Ukrainian civilians will probably face a continued onslaught of Russian attacks after Russia appointed a new commander with a “resume that includes brutality against civilians.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has tapped Gen. Alexander Dvornikov to oversee Russian forces in Ukraine, which have so far been beset with losses against Ukraine’s military in the country’s northern and western regions.

Dvornikov was a top general in Syria known for greenlighting the indiscriminate killings of civilians as Russia sought to assist Syrian President Bashar al-Assad remain in power.

“This particular general has a resume that includes brutality against civilians in other theaters, in Syria, and we can expect more of the same in this theater,” Sullivan said on CNN’s “State of the Union."

Sullivan noted that Dvornikov’s appointment comes as Russia regroups from a series of setbacks since launching its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 — Russian troops were forced to retreat from areas surrounding the capital of Kyiv after successful efforts by Ukrainian forces, and western intelligence officials have said the Russian soldiers have grappled with food and supply shortages.

“No appointment of any general can erase the fact that Russia has already faced a strategic failure in Ukraine,” Sullivan said. “They thought that they were going to be able to conquer the capital city and take other major cities with little resistance, that they'd, in fact, be welcomed with open arms, and what we have learned in the first several weeks of this war is that Ukraine will never be subjugated to Russia.”

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, when asked about Dvornikov’s appointment, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Ukrainian forces have already defied expectations since the start of the invasion.

“Whatever Russia is planning to do, we have our strategy and this strategy is based on … the confidence that we will win this war and we will liberate our territories,” Kuleba said.

Sullivan, appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press” said the United States continued to work “around the clock” to deliver weapons to Ukrainian fighters as Russia is expected to double down on its attacks on cities and towns in eastern Ukraine, including the besieged city of Mariupol.

“Weapons are arriving every day, including today,” Sullivan said. “This week, along with . .. [Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley], I spent two hours on the phone with the chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and President Zelenskyy's top aide, and we went through every weapon system that Ukraine is seeking, in priority order.”

Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova, appearing on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” said as Ukraine braces for a sustained assault on the country’s eastern region of Donbas, “we need all of the equipment, all of the firepower, all of the anti-air, in order to be able to do so.”

“What we are preparing is for the massive attack in the east,” Markarova said. “Yes, the enemy, the Russians, they are demotivated, they are war criminals, but there are so many of them and they still have so much equipment and it looks like they're going to use all of it. So we are preparing for everything. We are preparing for securing the civilians.”

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.