Vladimir Putin Reportedly Wants Control Of Entire Europe As Russia Appoints New War Chief

Amid warnings that Vladimir Putin’s target is not just Ukraine, but the entire Europe, the Russian President has appointed a General with cruel history.

Referred to as the Butcher of Syria, Captain General Aleksandr Dvornikov helped President Bashar al-Assad crush his enemies in the civil war, reported The Sun.

Dvornikov’s promotion would lead to more atrocities, warned Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser in Washington. He said that the General has a "résumé that includes brutality against civilians in other theatres, in Syria, and we can expect more of the same." According to Sullivan, the General will just be "another author of crimes and brutality against Ukrainian civilians." He assured that America is determined to do "all that we can to support the Ukrainians as they resist him and the forces that he commands.”

Retired Admiral James Stavridis said Sunday on “NBC Nightly News" that the appointment of "this new general indicates Putin’s intent to continue this conflict for months, if not years." He noted that Dvornikov is known as the "Butcher of Syria," and said that bringing in the man known for his cruelty to civilians, is an attempt to break the spirit of the Ukrainians.

According to Daily Mail, Dvornikov has been ordered by the Kremlin to seize the whole of Ukraine's eastern Donbas, and has also been given the responsibility of overseeing the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula. The General, 60, is also believed to be behind Friday's missile strike on Kramatorsk railway station. It killed at least 52 civilians who were try to flee.

Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, about 19,000 troops have been killed, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense. During an address to Ukrainians Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian aggression “was not intended to be limited to Ukraine alone.” He added that the “entire European project is a target for Russia," and that is why it is not just the "moral duty of all democracies, all the forces of Europe, to support Ukraine’s desire for peace."

He noted that this will be a "hard battle, we believe in this fight and our victory," and said that his people are "ready to simultaneously fight and look for diplomatic ways to put an end to this war.”