Overview
- Russian outlets reported Monday that Vladimir Putin removed Viktor Afzalov and put Col. Gen. Aleksandr Chaiko in charge of the Air and Space Forces.
- The Kremlin has not confirmed the change, which was first flagged by the pro‑war Fighterbomber channel and then reported by RBC and Vedomosti.
- The Air and Space Forces run Russia’s air, missile defense, and space units, and the reported change comes after weeks of Ukrainian drones hitting oil sites.
- Chaiko is under European Union sanctions for his command role near Kyiv during the 2022 Bucha killings, and Ukraine’s security service indicted him that September.
- Investigations by the Associated Press and Human Rights Watch linked him to signed 'clearing' orders in Bucha and to deadly strikes on civilians in Syria’s Idlib in 2019.