RUTHLESS Vladimir Putin has appointed “General Blood” as his new military chief in a chilling warning to Ukraine that the war is far from over.

Andrey Mordvichev, a man often described as Russia’s “most bloodthirsty general”, is now set lead Putin’s troops in their gruelling ground offensive.

The news comes as Russia sent out a “low-level” team of negotiators to Turkey for the latest round of Ukraine peace talks.

The move is being viewed as a stark warning to the West that the Kremlin isn’t planning on halting their frontlines assaults any time soon.

The feared Russian will be replacing General Oleg Salyukov, 70, who was fired from his role of head of Russia’s military land forces only days after he led the Victory Day parade through Moscow.

Mordvichev is one of Putin’s most notorious commanders who is known for allowing tens of thousands of his own men to be killed at war.

Nicknamed “General Blood” for his ruthlessness, the colonel general led a deadly operation to capture the blitzed town of Avdiivka in Ukraine.

Up to 17,000 Russian troops were killed and around 30,000 wounded from his cannon fodder advances as Ukraine recorded losses of between 5,000 and 7,000.

His efforts did get Mordvichev the Hero of Russia, God Star.

Another reason why the top Putin stooge is widely known across Moscow is due to him seemingly coming back to life in 2022.

Russia announced his death in the very first month of the war.

But he defied the obituaries and soon reemerged as one of the few generals to bring dictator Putin territorial gains on the frontline.

During the war Mordvichev has led Russia’s assault on Mariupol and Azovstal as well as working as commander of the Russian 8th army.

The general’s status as a fearless leader and his despicable disregard for death has made many fear why he has been appointed.

Turkey has been trying to host peace talks for the past 48 hours between Ukraine and Russia with Putin initially tipped to be attending.

But he quickly pulled out after Volodymyr Zelensky agreed to meet.

Neither side has spoken as of yet with the talks constantly getting delayed.

And the idea of peace has done little to slow down Vlad’s fury on the battlefield.

Overnight strikes saw Putin’s forces hit Ukrainian capital Kyiv in a drone strike and troops in the southern Donetsk region.

Some 50 shells were fired at Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk region, damaging a kindergarten, a school, a church, two private houses and cars. 

In response, Ukraine destroyed a major ammunition store linked to Russia’s 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of its Black Sea Fleet in Perevalnoye, Crimea.

With peace continuing to be hard to secure some have even speculated Vlad could manipulate a ceasefire for his own gains.

Military experts have warned that Putin could launch a direct attack on Nato by 2027 if he is allowed to rebuild his army during a ceasefire.

The International Institute for Strategic Studies said Putin may deploy his army onto a “war footing” and try to test Nato by evoking Article 5.

This may see the Kremlin decide to leave Ukraine alone as it continues to recover from Russia’s three-and-a-half year onslaught.

Instead, Putin could commit to an attack on Nato states in the Baltics.