President Vladimir Putin has called in a trusted aide and former personal bodyguard to be his eyes and ears in monitoring operations to expel Ukrainian forces from Russia, according to two people familiar with the decision.

While there’s been no official Kremlin announcement of Alexey Dyumin’s role, he’s been tasked with overseeing the military and civilian response to the incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region and to report back to Putin, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing internal matters.