Putin appoints general implicated in Bucha massacre commander of Russia's Air Force, media reports
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Russian president Vladimir Putin has appointed Aleksandr Chaiko, a general implicated in the 2022 massacre of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, as commander of the country's Air and Space Forces, Russian media reported on May 4.
Fifty-four-year-old Chaiko, who is also a deputy head of Russia's General Staff, will replace Viktor Afzalov, who had held the Air Force post since December 2023, Russian newspaper RBC reported, citing unnamed sources in the military.
During the launch of the full-scale invasion, Chaiko was the commander of the Eastern Military District, where he played a direct role in Moscow's attempt to take the Ukrainian capital by land from Belarusian territory.
In September 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine filed an indictment against Chaiko for his role in the offensive on Kyiv.
Chaiko was also one of nine Russian officers sanctioned by the Council of the European Union in March 2026, for his role commanding Russian forces around Kyiv around the time that over 400 Ukrainian civilians were massacred in the city of Bucha, north of Kyiv.
According to an October 2022 investigation by the Associated Press, many of the proven war crimes in Bucha in the last days of the massacre were "clearing" missions personally ordered and signed by Chaiko.
The general had also served as commander of Russia's troop contingent in Syria, both before and after the full-scale invasion.
According to an investigation by Human Rights Watch, Chaiko was directly involved in deadly strikes against civilian targets around Idlib in 2019.
The change of commander comes as Russia's air force, despite its massive advantage in numbers and firepower, has failed for five years to achieve air superiority in Ukraine, whose innovative deep strike and interceptor drone programs have stymied the activity of conventional air power.
