Putin fires ‘The Butcher of Mariupol’ months after he was put in charge of war logistics

Vladimir Putin has fired the Russian general known as “The Butcher of Mariupol” just months after taking charge of Moscow’s floundering logistical operations in Ukraine.

Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, 60, oversaw the brutal siege of the port city of Mariupol last year and ordered the bombing of a theater sheltering hundreds of families in a strike that left 300 Ukrainian people dead.

A year later, Mizintsev — known for his brutality and indiscriminate bombing of Mariupol — has now been fired as deputy defense minister for war logistics, only seven months in office.

It is not clear whether his dismissal is a prelude to a new appointment or a humiliating end to his career.

Only in September was the infamous Mizintsev appointed by Putin as a deputy to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Known as “Putin’s favorite,” Mizintsev replaced General Dmitry Bulgakov who was blamed for a string of failures in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Mizintsev’s resignation was reported today by Russian state television military correspondent Alexander Sladkov.

But he said the reasons for his resignation as deputy defense minister remain unclear.

“This is my friend,” Sladkov said. And I have a lot of respect for him. How, what, for what reason – it’s hard to guess. We’ll find out later.’

Last year there were rumors that Mizintsev could threaten Shoigu’s role as defense minister.

“The exact reasons are not yet clear, just as it is not clear whether it is a dismissal, suspension or transfer to a new position,” said Sladkov.

There is speculation that there may be bigger changes under Putin’s top.

The dictator has carried out repeated purges of his top commanders amid a succession of war failures in Ukraine.

Mizintsev oversaw the brutal and vicious three-month siege of Mariupol, which saw the city razed to the ground and hundreds of civilians killed in rocket attacks.

The world watched in horror as Russian troops bombed a maternity hospital on March 9 last year, killing a pregnant woman and her baby and injuring at least 17 people.

A week later, Russian planes again dropped missiles on civilian areas – this time on the Donetsk Regional Theater in Mariupol, which housed hundreds of civilians and had “children” written outside in large white letters.

The bombing, believed to have been ordered by Mizintsev, killed 300 people – the deadliest attack on civilians since the start of the war.

The city was a prime target for Russian troops given its strategic location on the Sea of ​​Azov.

Much of Mariupol lay in ruins and tens of thousands of people had died in a city where more than half of its pre-war population of about 450,000 has fled.

In response to the indiscriminate bombing of civilians, Mizintsev was sanctioned by Britain and other Western countries for his role in the bombing.

Mizintsev also led Russian military operations in Syria before the war in Ukraine began.

In his role as defense chief, Mizintsev also likely helped shape Russia’s military strategy in the country – including the bloody siege of Aleppo, which bears chilling parallels to the horror inflicted in Mariupol.

Joining Bashar al-Assad in his efforts to retake Syria from various rebel groups — some supported by the West — who had divided the country between them during the civil war, Russian troops helped the dictator lay siege to and eventually retake the north. western city of Aleppo against Free Syrian Army troops.

In all, the battle to retake the city lasted more than four years – but the most intense period came in late 2016, when Russian and Syrian forces surrounded the eastern half of the city while 270,000 civilians were still inside, bombarding it for months before sending troops. and tanks roll in to capture it.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that at least 1,640 civilians were killed during this period, although the exact number is difficult to ascertain and could be higher. Observers speaking to the LA Times said the siege was “characterized by a degree of unparalleled brutality and suffering” throughout the conflict.

Russian forces often used cluster bombs, chemical weapons and incendiary bombs – all of which are prohibited by international charters – on civilian areas again during the siege. Evidence emerged that hospitals had been systematically attacked and eventually completely destroyed in bombing raids.

Mizintsev was born in 1962 in the village of Averinskaya in the Russian Volga region. But he studied in Soviet Ukraine at the Kyiv Higher All-Arms Command School.

He served in East Germany and may know Putin from this period. Putin was a KGB spy in Dresden.

Mizintsev was appointed lieutenant general in 2014.