Former British commander: Putin could have ordered Russian general who destroyed Syriaʼs civilian infrastructure to blow up bridges in Kyiv

Putin could have instructed Russian General Sergei Surovikin (who was destroying Syriaʼs civilian infrastructure) to blow up bridges in Kyiv.

This is what Hamish de Bretton-Gordon — the former commander of the British Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Forces — writes about in his column for The Telegraph.

Surovikin is known as “General Armageddon” because he led strikes on Aleppo during the Syrian war that killed thousands of civilians. The Kremlin could have instructed Surovikin to repeat the tactic in Ukraine, even though it failed in Syria, according to the British commander.

De Bretton-Gordon also believes that Putin needs changes on the front: the Russian offensive in the Donetsk region has been stalling for months, as the Ukrainian military pushes the Russian Federation near Pokrovsk and Lyman, and the Russian army suffers heavy losses.

At the same time, the Kremlin is finding it increasingly difficult to recruit enough contract soldiers, and a new mobilization could become politically dangerous.

Therefore, Moscow may try to move the war to where it considers itself stronger. The author calls the seven bridges across the Dnipro River obvious targets, because their destruction could divide Kyiv in half and paralyze northern Ukraine.

Therefore, De Bretton-Gordon calls on the West to strengthen air defense, radars, drones and electronic warfare, and NATO to consider protecting Ukrainian cities with its own aircraft. According to the analyst, if the West allows Russia to strike Kyiv with impunity, such attacks will only increase.

• On the morning of October 3, a Russian drone hit the Northern Bridge in Kyiv, which connects Obolon and Troyeshchyna. This is the second Kyiv bridge that Russian drones have hit in recent days — the Southern Bridge was hit before.
• As a result, Kyiv has temporarily restricted traffic across four bridges during the air raid alert.

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