Putin Names ‘War Criminal’ General to Run Border Region Battered by Ukraine

Putin has appointed Major General Alexander Shuvaev – a Russian officer accused by Ukraine of overseeing the execution of Ukrainian POWs in Avdiivka – as the new Governor of the Belgorod region, replacing Vyacheslav Gladkov. Gladkov was removed after becoming viewed as too independent – publicly acknowledging Ukrainian strike damage and criticizing Kremlin information restrictions. Make us preferred on Google Flip Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Alexander Shuvayev, acting governor of the Belgorod region, attends a meeting with Russian President in Moscow on May 13, 2026.(Photo by Mikhail METZEL / POOL / AFP) Content Share Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn Bluesky Email Copy Copied Flip Make us preferred on Google A senior Russian army officer suspected by Ukraine of war crimes has been named by President Vladimir Putin to run a western border region under siege by Ukrainian drone swarms and commando raids, a Monday Kremlin announcement said. Major General Alexander Shuvaev, 45, will take over immediately as Governor of Russia’s western Belgorod region, replacing civilian politician Vyacheslav Gladkov, a presidential order signed by Putin and made public by his office said. Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official . According to Ukrainian volunteer groups tracking potentially criminal acts by Russian service members, Shuvaev, in February 2025, while commanding an infantry brigade in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, allowed his troops to shoot dead captured Ukrainian soldiers, and possibly participated personally in executions. Accounts of the fight, usually called in Ukraine the Battle of the Zenit Stronghold, identify Shuvaev as the on-the-ground commander of elements of the 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade “Slavyanskaya” that overran Ukrainian fortifications on Feb. 15. The Ukrainian volunteer-run war crimes tracking project Book of Executioners identifies Shuvaev’s purported victims as Colonel Dmytro Verby and Lieutenant Mykola Tkach. Two subordinates are identified by that platform as Verby’s and Tkach’s murderers. Both were shot dead in Shuvaev’s presence, that source claims. According to Russian media reports, Shuvaev holds a Hero of Russia medal, the Russian Federation’s highest award for battlefield bravery. He left military service in 2025 to serve in provincial government after completing the Russian “Time of Heroes,” a transition program created by the Putin regime to move former soldiers into state jobs. He reportedly is a Belgorod region native resident from the town of Novy Oskol. Other Topics of Interest FACT-CHECK: How Credible Was Zelensky’s Ex-Spokesperson in Tucker Carlson Interview? Yuliia Mendel, President Zelensky’s former press secretary, made a series of serious claims in a Tucker Carlson interview, ranging from wartime governance and NATO policy to alleged corruption and mobilization abuses, many of which are disputed or lack independent verification. Shuvaev worked for 3.5 months as a vice governor of the remote central Siberian district, Pryangary, and later in the Ural Mountain region, Chelyabinsk, prior to being named to the Belgorod governorship, Russian news reports said. As Belgorod governor, Shuvaev will take over an industrialized territory of 1.5 million residents now on the front lines with Ukraine to the south. Since mid-2024, Belgorod has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones and missiles, as well as by special operations infantry teams and partisans taking advantage of thick forest on the Russo-Ukraine border in the vicinity. Power grid, electricity and generation infrastructure have been hit most often. As a result of the continuing Ukrainian attacks, the outgoing Belgorod Governor, Gladkov, 57, during 2025 and 2026 became a familiar face on Russian state-run media, usually in interviews on state-run television during which he told viewers that authorities had the situation under control and that the Ukrainian attacks had done little or no damage. A 17-year member of the Putin-created United Russia political party, Gladkov, in public comment as governor always maintained a loyal, pro-Putin position, but as the Ukrainian strikes intensified against the Belgorod region, his public statements sometimes acknowledged the damage that they were doing, particularly blackouts and shutdown heating, sometimes affecting hundreds of thousands of Belgorod residents for days. Gladkov was openly critical of a Kremlin crackdown on information-sharing via the messenger app Telegram in March because, he said, with Telegram not working, Belgorod residents would have no way to receive early warnings of incoming Ukrainian drones or missiles. According to the sometimes-independent Russian publication, Vedemosti, Gladkov’s indirect suggestion that the central government in Moscow was placing Belgorod residents at unnecessary physical risk, for the sake of controlling internet content more tightly, along with failing health and unwillingness to ignore voters, lay behind his dismissal. An article published by the opposition Important Stories magazine entitled “A Thorn in the System’s Eye: How Governor Gladkov Became Too Independent” said in part: “Everyone in the FSB [the Russian secret police] simply hates Gladkov. Because he’s a huge nuisance. They forbade him from releasing information, but he keeps releasing it because, in his view, it saved lives.” In the Thursday Telegram farewell message to voters, Gladkov declared continuing loyalty to the regime and to Putin personally. “I want to extend my sincere gratitude to our President, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, for constant attention, help, and support, and for those decisions [of his] that made possible, and make possible to develop the Belgorod region. For those decisions, which in the context of an extremely complex operational situation [i.e. Ukrainian strikes and raids in Belgorod region] has helped us pass through the test our region is living through,” Gladkov said. Russian Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov, in Wednesday comments to Moscow reporters, stated that Gladkov “will definitely be offered a new position.” Gladkov signed off his address to voters with a possibly veiled criticism of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine and its commitment to four years of war without decisive results, after declaring Ukrainian resistance would be crushed in three days. “I wish everyone that which is most important: Victory! I am sure it will come. I think now is not the time to draw conclusions. The conclusions should be made by you. One must always believe in concrete actions, and not words. I embrace you all, and I am always with you,” Gladkov said. Stefan Korshak is the Kyiv Post Senior Defense Correspondent. He is from Houston Texas, is a Yalie and since the mid-1990s has worked as correspondent/photographer for newswire, newspapers, television and radio. He has reported from five wars but most enjoys doing articles on wildlife and nature. You can read his weekly blog on the Russo-Ukraine War on Facebook, Substack and Medium. His new book on the 2022 Siege of Mariupol is available on Amazon UK and Amazon US .