Alexander Zhuravlev
Russia used war in Syria to test their weaponry and the ability to wage war. Now she uses these developments in the war against Ukraine.
In the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, when it became clear that no one would meet the Russian occupiers “with open arms”, the Russians resorted to targeted strike on the civilian population.
It was then that they began to launch rocket attacks on cities. One of these cities is Kharkiv. And they beat them using multiple launch rocket systems BM-30 “Smerch” with cluster munitions. One such projectile releases 72 rounds of ammunition on an area the size of a football field.
For example, on February 27 and 28 alone, 11 rocket attacks from the Smerch MLRS were carried out at Kharkov alone.
Important! Cluster bombs are prohibitedinternational agreement – the Convention on Cluster Munitions of 2010. It prohibits the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of such weapons. The treaty refers to the fact that many munitions do not explode on impact, remaining dangerous in fields and urban areas, and therefore can kill or maim people. Among the countries that did not sign the treaty is Russia.
Journalists managed to establish that the attacks on Kharkov were carried out by invaders from the 79th Guards Rocket Artillery Brigade. It is directly subordinate to the head of the Western Military District. It is led by Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlev.
Experts note that the use of cluster munitions requires his personal approval. It is he who gives the order for their use. It is Zhuravlev who is responsible for shelling the civilian population of Ukraine with the Smerch. And for this he should be punished like a war criminal.
“Extrajudicial killings and bombing of civilians, which are neither military necessity nor proportionate to the threat they face, are contrary to the Geneva Conventions. And based on the Geneva Conventions' standard of command responsibility, General Zhuravlev is as guilty as anyone else in his chain of command “, – said Filipp Vasilevsky, an employee of the Foreign Policy Institute.
Cruel Syrian experience
It is not the first time that Zhuravlev uses cluster munitions against civilians. It is for this that he is “appreciated” in Russia, having given him the lead of one of the five military districts.
One of the most brutal periods of the war in Syria is associated with Zhuravlev. He was sent to war in Syria three times. During the “second event”, he first became the leader of Russian troops in Syria in July 2016. Just before that, the Russians tried to capture the eastern part of Aleppo, where the rebels were opposed to the Syrian dictator.
During the leadership of Zhuravlev, the Russians significantly increased the use of cluster munitions in the shelling of Aleppo. Only in the period from September 10 to October 10, 2016, the Russians used such ammunition 137 times.
The result was that the rebels surrendered in December.
Syrian-American orthopedic surgeon Dr. Samer Attar was helping the wounded in Aleppo at the same time, when the city was cordoned off by the Russian military and mercilessly shelled it with cluster munitions. Since the beginning of the Russian war against Ukraine, he has been helping the wounded in Ukraine. And he points to the similarity of the wounds that he saw in Syria in 2016, receiving Ukrainians in 2022.
Russian “praise”
Such “achievements” of Zhuravlev, even as a result of numerous casualties among the civilian population, found approval in the Kremlin. There he was awarded the highest military award.
Zhuravlev received gratitude from the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin for the war in Syria/Photo CNN
After that, Zhuravlev became deputy head of the Russian General Staff, led the eastern military district, was again sent to Syria. Since November 2018, he has been in charge of the Western Military District.
His deputy is General Aleksey Zavizion, who has been leading Russian troops in the war in Donbas since 2015. In 2017, Ukraine charged him with war crimes. He is accused of shelling civilians with multiple rocket launchers.
