Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly appointed a new general to oversee military operations in Ukraine, signalling a change in Moscow’s plans.

According to CNN, which cited US and European officials, General Alexander Dvornikov, the commander of Russia’s Southern Military Command, has been appointed as the new theatre commander for the ongoing war in Ukraine.

“It speaks to a Russian acknowledgement that it is going extremely badly and they need to do something differently,” CNN quoted a European official as saying on the change in military leadership.

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Indeed, Russia has not fared well in Ukraine, despite its superior military might: Ukrainian forces have retaken control of the Kyiv region, and have pushed Russian forces back to the eastern Donbas region of the country.

Moscow, however, claims that its troops are merely regrouping to mount an assault on the contested Donbas region, as well as on southern Ukraine, which the Russian defence ministry described as “priority areas.”

Given this change in emphasis, General Dvornikov may play a decisive role.

A seasoned leader, the 60-year-old served as Russia’s first commander for military operations in Syria between September 2015 and June 2016, and helped the Bashar al-Assad regime capture rebel-held Aleppo, albeit at a steep humanitarian cost.

The 60-year-old is expected to bring about more cohesiveness in Russian military actions in Ukraine, but officials remained skeptical about the same, given the reported lack of morale among Russian troops.

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“We will see how effective that proves to be. The Russian doctrine, the Russian tactics remain pretty much as they’ve been since Afghanistan,” CNN quoted one official as saying.

General Dvornikov’s appoints comes a day after US and European officials speculated that Moscow was trying to achieve some sort of victory in Ukraine by May 9, which is celebrated as Victory Day in Russia to mark the occasion of the USSR’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

Officials, however, have also warned that Russia’s hastiness to achieve certain military objectives in Ukraine by May 9 could lead to further atrocities.