A Russian general identified in a CNN investigation as responsible for targeting civilians in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and his role as architect of the Siege of Aleppo was involved in high-level defense talks with his British counterpart in 2017 after receiving Russia’s highest had military honors for his role in his war in Syria.
Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlyov, in his capacity as then Deputy Chief of Staff, during a 2017 British Ministry-dominated trip to Moscow, met with the then Deputy Chief of Staff of the UK, Ambassador General, for high-level talks on defense as a “dialogue of military Military”. The Russian state news agency TASS reported on February 28, 2017, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, that Zhuravlyov had discussed “a resumption of military interaction” with Messenger.
CNN’s investigation revealed that Zhuravlev’s leadership catalyzed the attack on eastern Aleppo in 2016. After taking the reins, the Russian military quickly ramped up its attacks on rebel-held territory, completing the siege of the densely populated city, causing a large death toll and setting the wheels in motion for a tactic that would define Russia’s intervention in has Syria: besiege, starve, bombard and submit.
During his tenure there was also a dramatic increase in documented cluster munitions attacks in Aleppo.
European intelligence analysts, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, said the pattern of Shuravlyov’s behavior in Syria and Ukraine is the same, subjugating cities through terror. “Zhuravlyov was called in with the aim of bringing about a speedy surrender of Aleppo. He did this using the same method we see in Ukraine. He ordered the indiscriminate use of cluster munitions against a dense civilian infrastructure and population,” the analyst said.
Syrian human rights activists have long called for the Russian general to be held accountable, and Matthew Ingham, a senior UK human rights lawyer with law firm Payne Hicks Beach, told CNN: “Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlyov should have been sanctioned for his actions in Syria,” adding : “It’s a pity that there wasn’t a stronger reaction to alleged war crimes at the time, because that could have influenced Putin’s Ukrainian strategic calculation from the start.
Neither the US nor the UK has publicly cracked down on Zhuravlev or other key Russian generals implicated in war crimes. The US State Department declined to comment on the specific findings of CNN’s investigation, but said it continues to investigate war crimes and reports of ongoing violence and abuse.
In a statement to CNN, Britain’s MoD said an earlier statement from 2017 “made it clear” that they support military-to-military dialogue to minimize risk and misperception
“We stand by that principle, which is why this year we gave Russia every opportunity to have a dialogue about Ukraine before they launched their reprehensible and unprovoked invasion,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report
Read Also :