Source: Red Star News
The russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted two months since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24. On April 18, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said that the Russian army had begun to attack the Donbass region of Oudong after a long period of preparation, and most of the Russian forces were currently concentrated in Donbass. As the situation continues to be turbulent, the "economic war" between the United States, the European Union and other countries against Russia has also escalated repeatedly.
So in this conflict, what key figures are "swaying" the course of the situation in Russia and Ukraine?
Russian commander:
Alexander Dvornikov
Around April 11, Russian tanks and artillery, as well as troops withdrawn from the area around Kiev, were reportedly moving towards the Donbass region of Udong. At the same time, the Ukrainian army also began to send reinforcements to the Donbass. As the focus of the conflict between the two sides shifted to Eastern Ukraine, the Russian side also changed the commander-in-chief of military operations.
According to foreign media reports on the 11th, Russian President Putin officially appointed General Alexander Dvornikov, commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian Army, as the commander of the Russian special military operations in Ukraine. Dvornikov, 60, has led troops in Syria and has extensive military command experience. In September 2015, Russia intervened in the Syrian crisis, becoming the first commander of the Russian armed forces in Syria. Due to his outstanding military command during his time in Syria, Dvornikov was awarded the honorary title of Hero of the Russian Federation by the Kremlin in 2016. In September of the same year, Dvornikov was appointed commander of the Southern Military District of the Russian Army, which covers the donbass region of eastern Ukraine, the focus of Russia's current military operations.
Analysts pointed out that Dvolnikov took over the baton to lead Russia's new phase of operations against Ukraine as a reasonable choice, because he had "the best understanding of the geographical location and battlefield of military operations" in the region, and that Dvornikov was allegedly best equipped to coordinate troops in the offensive.
In addition, foreign media also pointed out that since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24, Dvornikov led the army to the north from Crimea and captured a large area of territory in southern Ukraine. Since then, Dvornikov has been supervising the army in southern and eastern Ukraine.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
Valery Zaluzhny
According to foreign media reports, if Ukraine's astonishing military achievements so far, including the protection of the capital Kiev and the holding of most of the other major cities in the Russian onslaught, can be attributed to one person, it is Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Zaluzhny is 49 years old and was born into a military family. He studied at the Army Research Institute at the Odessa Military Academy and the National Defense Academy in Kiev, where he completed his studies in 2007. He served successively as Chief of Staff of the Joint Operations Command of the Ugandan Armed Forces, First Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces Operational Command of the Armed Forces, and in December 2019, he was appointed Commander of the Northern Operational Command of the Armed Forces. In July last year, Ukrainian President Zelenskiy wanted to see cooperation between the Ukrainian armed forces and the Ministry of Defense, so he appointed Zaluhny as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.
The incident of Zaluzhny's appointment as commander-in-chief was in itself part of a larger overhaul of the Ukrainian army. That's because Zaluzhny and other Ukrainian commanders have been preparing for a potential, broader crisis since the crimean events of 2014. Over the past 8 years, he has continuously honed himself in the Donbass region, and when he is not on the front line, he will go to various parts of Europe to conduct training exercises, thus cultivating a more dexterous combat style. Zaluhny has said the Ukrainian army is full of young, professional soldiers and future military leaders.
Last September, Zaluzhneh claimed that he was ready for a possible attack, saying that "now, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, I am responsible for combat preparation, training and mobilization of the armed forces." Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Zalu has avoided most interviews and made relatively few public appearances, only occasionally posting statements about the progress of the Ukrainian army through social media. On social platforms, some have called him "Storm Norman" or "Indestructible Iron General."
Behind the scenes of the "financial war" between the United States and Russia:
Dalip Singh
In the two months since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, western countries led by the United States have launched a fierce "financial war" with Russia. The "behind-the-scenes command" of the US sanctions program against Russia is Dalip Singh, the 47-year-old deputy national security adviser of the United States.
Born in Olney, Maryland, Singer reportedly settled with his family in North Carolina at the age of 7, and his great-grandfather, Dalip Singer Sound, was the first Asian-American to be elected to the U.S. Congress. Singer graduated from Duke University with a double B.A. in Economics and Public Policy, followed by an MBA in International Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.A. in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Singer spent much of his early career at goldman sachs, a well-known investment bank, researching interest rates and foreign exchange markets, and was a well-known investment manager on Wall Street. From 2011 to 2017, during the Obama administration, Singer served as deputy assistant secretary for international affairs and acting assistant secretary for financial markets at the U.S. Treasury Department, helping the Treasury develop policies to respond to a series of crises in Ukraine, Russia, Greece, and Puerto Rico, including economic sanctions against Russia in the wake of crimea in 2014.
Since then, Singer has served as a senior partner and chief U.S. economist at SPX Capital, a global investment firm. In February 2020, Singer officially joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as a member of the Executive Committee, as the head of the marketing department, responsible for formulating a series of emergency monetary policies and strategies during the epidemic. In February 2021, Singer was appointed deputy national security adviser to the U.S. National Security Council and deputy director of the U.S. National Economic Council, responsible for coordinating a range of decision-making issues in the Biden administration, from supply chain resilience to economic governance and anti-corruption.
Behind the scenes of Russia's "financial counter-offensive war":
Elvira Nabiulina
Born on 29 October 1963 in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, Elvira Nabiulina graduated from Moscow State University in 1986 with a degree in Economics. After graduating, Nabiurina worked in the economic sector and was widely regarded as a competent "technocrat", working for the Committee on Economic Reform of the Union of Science and Industry of the USSR, the Department of Economic Reform of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation, and in 1997 became Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Russia.
In the early years of Putin's administration, she served as Russia's first deputy minister of economy and trade. From 2007 to 2012, she served as Minister of Economy and Trade of Russia. In 2012, he became an economic assistant to the President of Russia. In June 2013, Nabiulina "unexpectedly" became governor of the Central Bank of Russia, the first female central banker in the G8 member states.
In 2014, Russia faced a sharp drop in the ruble due to Western sanctions over the Crimea incident, coupled with a sharp drop in international oil prices, plunging the Russian economy into crisis. In the following two years, Nabiurina single-handedly promoted the establishment of Russia's floating exchange rate system, alleviated the pressure on Russia's foreign exchange reserves, and reduced the inflation rate to the lowest level since the collapse of the Soviet Union, which promoted the recovery of the Russian economy. And this experience made her "famous in world war I".
Under her leadership, the Central Bank of Russia modernized and built the world's largest $ 640 billion worth of gold and foreign exchange reserves, known as Russia's financial "bastions". In addition, Nabiurina has led Russia through several economic crises and established her reputation as a "hawkish president". She has been one of Putin's staunchest allies and is seen as a leader in Russia's financial scene as russia's confrontation with the West intensifies for nearly a decade. In this Russian-Ukrainian conflict, she successfully prevented the collapse of the Russian financial system that could be caused by Western sanctions through the "ruble settlement order" and caused the ruble to rebound sharply to pre-conflict levels.
In September 2016, Nabiurina ranked 6th in the world's best central bank governor ranking published by Global Finance magazine. On December 8, 2020, Nabiurina was once again listed at 57th in Forbes magazine's annual ranking of the world's 100 most influential women, becoming the only representative of Russia for the third consecutive year.
Russia and Ukraine mediate "middlemen":
Roman Abramovich
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of The Premier League Club of Chelsea, played an important role in the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations after the escalation of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. According to reports, since the beginning of March, Abramovich has been involved in the organization and coordination of the Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. The source also revealed that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally approved Abramovich's participation in organizing negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Abramovich "has been traveling between Istanbul, Moscow and Kiev" to deliver messages for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelenskiy.
Abramovich has struggled to salvage his reputation after being sanctioned by Britain and the European Union. After the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, like many Russian oligarchs, his assets were frozen in the United Kingdom and the European Union, and he was forced by the British government to "sell cheaply" chelsea football club for nearly 20 years. According to people familiar with the matter, the reason why Abramovich decided to "mediate" was that he could not bear to witness the war in the birthplace of his mother Irina. In addition, Abramovich is recognized as one of the oligarchs most closely associated with Putin. During Putin's administration, Abramovich served as governor of the Chukotka Autonomous Oblast for 8 years. (Reporter Ding Wen)
(Source: Red Star News)