May 4, 2026

New Commander of Russian Aerospace Forces Appointed Alexander Chayko, According to RBC and Vedomosti. The General is Under EU Sanctions for Involvement in Bucha Massacres

Colonel General Alexander Chayko has been appointed the new Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. This was reported by sources from RBC and Vedomosti, as well as Z-channel author Fighterbomber Ilya Tumanov. The Ministry of Defense has not confirmed Chayko's appointment. According to official data, Colonel General Viktor Afzalov remains the Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces, having replaced Sergei Surovikin in this post in 2023. Chayko's career. From September 2019 to June 2021, Chayko led the Russian group of troops in Syria and then headed the Eastern Military District. Later, the Colonel General was appointed commander of the Russian military in Syria twice more – in 2022 and 2024. Participation in the war with Ukraine. According to the SBU, in 2022, Chayko participated in the planning, preparation, and attack of Russian troops on the territory of Ukraine. During the invasion, the Colonel General commanded the group that advanced on Kyiv from Belarus. In March 2022, Chayko issued orders for the use of military aviation and artillery against the village of Teterivske in the Kyiv region, as well as for the bombing of residential areas in the village of Borodyanka, the SBU stated. In addition, the Colonel General commanded the 76th Guards Air Assault Division and its 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment. As Reuters reported, the division was in Bucha when the city was under Russian military control. Journalists from The New York Times also reported on the involvement of military personnel from the airborne regiment in mass killings. Orders for the killings of civilians in the Kyiv region were given by high-ranking commanders, and then approved by Chayko, journalists from the Associated Press and PBS found out. They called the actions of the Russian military "strategic and organized cruelty." Participation in the war in Syria. Chayko is responsible for the bombing of hospitals and schools in Syria, as well as for the use of indiscriminate weapons in areas with civilian populations, noted the human rights organization Human Rights Watch. Sanctions against Chayko. Due to the Colonel General's actions in Syria, Great Britain imposed sanctions against him in 2022. In March of this year, Chayko was placed under European sanctions due to his involvement in the mass killings in Bucha.