He is one of Vladimir Putin’s trusted men and Ukraine accuses him of being behind the attacks on a maternal and child hospital and a theater in the coastal city
Since the Russian siege of Mariupol began, many voices have pointed out the similarity of this siege with the ‘modus operandi’ of the Kremlin troops in the Syrian city of Aleppo. And it is not unreasonable because in addition to the almost total destruction and the death of hundreds of civilians, both cities share the figure of Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev. His is, according to Ukraine and some Western intelligence services, the mind that has devised some of the bloodiest actions in both populations. He has been dubbed ‘the butcher of Mariupol’.
Russia joined Bashar al-Assad to recover Syria after the civil war that broke out in the country in 2011. One of the symbols of the resistance against the Al-Assad regime was the northwestern city of Aleppo, in the hands of Army troops. Free Syrian. For four years both sides fought fiercely, especially at the end of 2016, when the troops sent by Moscow and the Syrians surrounded the eastern half, bombed mercilessly for months. And with it, the 270,000 civilians trapped inside. The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that at least 23,000 people died during this period, described by some as “absolute savagery” and in which cluster bombs and chemical weapons were used. There was no respect whatsoever for the hospitals, nor for the ceasefires, nor for the humanitarian corridors, much less for the international rules that govern war or the most basic human rights.
The general image of that Aleppo is very close to that of today’s Mariupol. Reduced to ashes, the scene of hand-to-hand combat in its streets and with a civilian population trapped without water, food or electricity for weeks. Behind both operations, Mikhail Mizintsev, one of Vladimir Putin’s trusted men. It is even said that he is one of the few with whom he speaks personally.
Ukraine had singled him out as the mastermind of the actions against the besieged city, but he himself confirmed it when he issued the ultimatum to his defenders: «Leave your weapons. All who do so will be guaranteed safe passage out of the city. The municipal authorities have the opportunity to make a decision and side with the people. Otherwise, the military court that awaits them will be only a small part of what they deserve for the terrible crimes that the Russian side is carefully documenting.”
UK sanctioned
The 59-year-old is the head of the National Center for Defense Management, created in 2014 to design the country’s military operations. It is known that a large part of the hackers in the Russian army are under his command and that he has a direct line to the Wagner Group, a paramilitary organization that acts all over the world and whose character is as secret as it is violent.
Ukrainian authorities hold Mizintsev directly responsible for two of the bloodiest attacks ever recorded in the port city. The first was against a maternal and child hospital where pregnant women and minors of all ages were found. The second, against a theater that served as a refuge for hundreds of civilians, of whom at least 300 would have died. The United Kingdom has placed it on the list of Russian organizations and individuals sanctioned for the invasion. Meanwhile, 90% of Mariupol no longer exists.