The Russian general, Alexander Chaiko, returned to the Syrian arena for the third time since the Russian military intervention in Syria, as commander of the Russian forces.
Chaiko’s return was from the Syria Democratic Forces portal, due to his knowledge and experience in dealing with the issue, during the past years, as he was the supervisor of the Russian-Turkish agreements after Operation Peace Spring in October 2019, when he was then the commander of the Russian forces in Syrian.
Two weeks ago, Chaiko met with the commander of the SDF, Mazloum Abdi, in al Hasakah (Northeast Syria), where he offered him, in light of Turkish threats to launch a military ground operation in the region, the withdrawal of the SDF from the Syrian-Turkish border at a distance of 30 kilometers, and that the Syrian army forces would replace it.
However, the SDF rejected the offer, according to local media.
This is the third time that Chaiko has led the Russian forces in Syria, as the first was from September 2019 to September 2020, and the second was from February to June 2021.
The military realities differ in the three phases of this Russian commander’s leadership, as the first phase witnessed rapid military developments, starting with Operation Peace Spring and ending with the Syrian army’s attack, with Russian support, on Idlib and its control over areas of it, before the signing of an agreement between the two Turkish presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Vladimir Putin on March 3, 2020.
As for the second stage, it was characterized by military calm on all axes, while the third stage comes in light of Turkish threats to launch a military operation against the SDF in the region, to which Moscow objected.
According to the Russian Izvestia newspaper, Chaiko was awarded, in July 2020, the title of Hero of the Russian Federation, which is the highest honor in the country, after his success in the position of leader of the Russian grouping in Syria.
After the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, Colonel Alexander Shaiko led the assault on the capital, Kiev.
However, Chaiko’s presence on the Ukrainian front didn’t last long, as he was dismissed from the command of the Eastern Military District, and there were conflicting reports about the time of dismissal, between last May, according to what the British Ministry of Defense said, and last October.
Chaiko was born in 1971 in Odintsovo, near the Russian capital, and graduated in 1992 from the Moscow Higher School of General Forces Commanders, and studied at the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
He rose in military ranks and positions in various regions of Russia, until 2015 with the start of the Russian intervention in Syria, when he was appointed Chief of Staff of the Russian Forces Group in Syria.
