The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyhas dismissed the head of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Yuriy Sodolwho will be replaced by General Andrii Hnatov.
The Joint Forces are a military strategic decision-making body in charge of coordinating the different Ukrainian arms. “I have decided to replace the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol, with Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov,” Zelensky explained in his daily evening speech without giving further explanations.
Sobol has recently come under fire, including from the head of the Azov National Guard Brigade, Bohdan Krotevichwho had asked to investigate one of the generals for the loss of Ukrainian troops on the battlefield, according to the Ukrainian news agency. Ukrinform.
Krotevich had denounced that this general, who is not mentioned, “In my opinion he has killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general.”
“What I do care about is that battalion and combat brigade commanders are judged for losing an observation post, but a general is not judged for losing regions, dozens of cities and thousands of soldiers,” Krotevych wrote.
“All military personnel now understand who I am talking about because 99% of the military hate him for what he does.”
He also expressed his willingness to testify. Despite not having mentioned any name, the Ukrainian media pointed to Sodol as the general Krotevich was referring to.
The news medium Ukrainian Pravdaciting a leaked report, said it had been filed a criminal complaint against Sodol, who was promoted earlier this year, although he did not identify him. He said Krotevich was willing to testify against him.
Hnatov had served as deputy commander of the southern theater of operations from 2022 and played a leading role in recovering much of the southern Kherson region from Russian invaders.
In the spring of 2023, he commanded the defense of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, a city that eventually fell to Russian forces after many months of pitched battles.
Krotevych, in a social media post after the president’s announcement, described Hnatov as a “very worthy officer.”
Sodol’s dismissal is one of a series of personnel changes. As Russian forces have made gains and slowly advanced through eastern Ukraine in recent months, the military has undergone considerable changes.
The top military commander, Valeriy Zaluzhnyiwas dismissed in February after public differences with Zelensky over the conduct of the war.
(With information from EP and Reuters)
