After joining the Soviet Army in 1978, Dvornikov rose through the ranks of the Soviet and then Russian army over a period of thirty years. In 2015, he became commander of the Russian Armed Forces in Syria during the Russian military intervention there. At that time he cemented a reputation for the harsh conduct of his military campaigns as those in Chechnya before.[5][6]
In 2005, Dvornikov became deputy commander and chief of staff of the 36th Army in the Siberian Military District. In 2008, he took command of the 5th Red Banner Army. Dvornikov became deputy commander of the Eastern Military District in 2011. From May 2012 to June 2016, he served as chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Central Military District. Between November and December 2012, he was acting commander of the district.[11]
Sanctioned by Canada under the Special Economic Measures Act (S.C. 1992, c. 17) in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine for Grave Breach of International Peace and Security.[14] and by the UK government in 2019 in relation to Russo-Ukrainian War.[15]
Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 10 April 2022, Dvornikov was placed in complete charge of military operations during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[4][16] Before his appointment, there had not been a single military leader for all Russian forces; he had been one of several in charge of various fronts.[4]
On 25 June 2022, it was again reported that Dvornikov had been dismissed from his post.[19]
On 8 October 2022, the Russian Defence Ministry named Air Force General Sergey Surovikin as the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine without naming who Surovikin was replacing.[7]
Military reputation
Dvornikov's military reputation is often cited in the international press for the harsh conduct of his military campaigns, particularly in Chechnya and Syria. He has been accused of having pursued scorched earth tactics. Retired US Navy Admiral James G. Stavridis spoke in an interview of what he said was a known epithet of Dvornikov, "Butcher of Syria".[5][6]
However, the Institute for the Study of War has noted that although Dvornikov's tenure was marked by large numbers of civilian deaths, it was not especially bloody compared to the operation as a whole, as the Russian military targeted Syrian civilians and critical infrastructure throughout its intervention in Syria.[20] According to an investigation by Cathrin Schaer and Emad Hassan published in the German state-funded media Deutsche Welle, statistics also show that Dvornikov did not open up a new and more violent chapter in the Syrian war.[21][20]