Colonel General Alexander Chaiko has been appointed the new commander-in-chief of Russia’s Aerospace Forces, according to sources cited by RBC and Vedomosti, as well as Ilya Tumanov, the author of the pro-war Telegram channel Fighterbomber.
There has been no official confirmation of the appointment from the Russian Defense Ministry. According to official information, the post remains held by Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, who replaced Sergei Surovikin in 2023.
Chaiko’s career
From September 2019 to June 2021, Chaiko commanded the Russian military grouping in Syria and then led the Eastern Military District. He was later appointed twice more to command Russian forces in Syria, in 2022 and 2024.
Allegations related to the war against Ukraine
According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), Chaiko took part in planning, preparing, and carrying out the 2022 Russian attack on Ukraine. During the invasion, the agency says, he commanded the force that advanced on Kyiv from Belarus.
The SBU also said that in March 2022, Chaiko ordered the use of military aircraft and artillery against the village of Teterevske in Kyiv region, as well as the bombing of residential areas in the village of Borodianka.
The colonel general also commanded the 76th Guards Air Assault Division and its 234th Air Assault Regiment. Reuters reported that the division was in Bucha while the city was under Russian military control. Journalists from The New York Times also reported the involvement of servicemen from that regiment in mass killings.
Journalists from Associated Press and PBS found that orders to kill civilians in Kyiv region were issued by senior commanders and then approved by Chaiko. They described the actions of the Russian military as “strategic and organized cruelty.”
Syria and sanctions
Human Rights Watch has said Chaiko was responsible for the bombing of hospitals and schools in Syria, as well as for the use of indiscriminate weapons in civilian-populated areas.
Because of his actions in Syria, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on Chaiko in 2022. In March of this year, he was also placed under EU sanctions over involvement in the mass killings in Bucha.