Putin unleashed his butcher on Mariupol when the tide began to turn on invasion
VLADIMIR Putin’s decision to put his most merciless general in charge of the Mariupol attack proves how vital the city is to his Ukraine ambitions.
Putin tasked Colonel-general Mikhail Mizintsev with seizing Mariupol less than two weeks ago.
Experts say it was the first indication that hopes of installing a puppet government were over, making victory in Donbas more crucial.
And 61-year-old Mizintsev, who trained in Kyiv during the Cold War and is famed for his brutality, has never yet failed to deliver.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens remained trapped in the port city last night, which is now reduced to rubble following an unrelenting bombardment by Russian missiles and rockets which have struck hospitals and cost the lives of more than 2,000 men, women and children.
It is no coincidence the intensity of the barrage increased when Putin called in his faithful rottweiler.
The forceful deportation of 6,000 inhabitants to “filtration camps” in Russia is another of Mizintsev’s trademarks.
As head of the National Defence Management Centre, the general is expected to resolve issues affecting operations across Ukraine, and this has already resulted in a better use of attack helicopters.
But victory in greater Donbas, including the land bridge with Crimea, is now his personal priority.
Established in 2014 for Russia’s Syria campaign, the management centre takes charge of every strand of Russia’s military machine – from logistics to command-and-control – to provide “practical solutions for strategic decisions”.
Handpicked to lead it, Mizintsev co-ordinated a ruthless campaign that saw Syria’s city of Aleppo obliterated by cluster and incendiary bombs, while chemical weapons like mustard gas and chlorine were deployed on at least some of the 1,800 citizens who perished. This earned him the title “Saviour of Syria”.
Mizintsev’s name actually means “little finger” in Russian and fans of the hit TV series Game of Thrones may see similarities with Lord Petyr Baelish (pictured inset, right), the driven Master of the Coin who also carried the same moniker.
But, there is little charm to Mizintsev, whose foul-mouthed shredding of a junior officer exposes humble roots in a small village in the icy plains of Vologda.
A leaked recording reveals
Mizintsev ordering a unit commander to arrange the brutal beating of a young captain.
“Why is his face not mutilated? Why hasn’t anyone cut off his ears?” an even-voiced Mizintsev is heard saying.
Turning to the captain’s unit commander – a colonel – Mizintsev chillingly adds: “I ordered you, if you find a b ****** like this, to immediately round up his parents, his brothers and sisters, grandmothers, grandfather, wife, kids and they should immediately be brought to me.
“Just try and do it wrong one more time...”
The brutal tirade reveals the humiliation and fear that drives Russia’s armed forces.
It is the same fear which compelled six Russian generals to the Ukrainian front, only to be killed.
Even at the very top rumours swirl of discontent. It had been said that defence minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin’s closest ally, had suffered a heart attack or been punished for failings in the invasion.
But yesterday the 66-year-old army general made a brief appearance, reading from notes in an apparent crisis session to obtain more cash for his war from the finance ministry.
There was no immediate proof of when the televised Shoigu session was filmed, although it referred to the “special military operation” – Kremlin-speak for its war in Ukraine.
The defence minister told military officials, after the session, that it was essential to keep up the pace of weapons deliveries to troops. He appeared tense and tired.
The previous definite appearance of Shoigu was on March 11, although the Russians say he attended a video conference with Putin on March 24.
ANGUISH: Tearful Natalia Horoberts flees Mariupol,
largely flattened under Mizintsev’s command