A mountain of corpses

He has served the Kremlin in five wars around the world, leaving behind a trail of blood, crushed cities and destroyed lives while earning himself the chilling nickname of ‘General Armageddon’.

Now Vladimir Putin has handed Sergei Surovikin full command of Russia’s war in Ukraine, entrusting him with saving the dictator’s beleaguered presidency by salvaging this disastrous military campaign.

And sure enough, on Monday, two days after Surovikin’s appointment, missiles rained down across Ukraine to strike energy, heating and transport infrastructure in at least 20 cities and towns, killing 19 people.

In Kyiv, attacked for the first time since June, they hit parks, playgrounds and rush-hour commuters in cars that exploded in flames.