06.26.2024 – Translated from Ukrainian via Google and OFP
On Monday, June 24, Vladimir Zelensky removed Yuriy Sodol, commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, from his post. This happened after the chief of staff of the Azov brigade, Bogdan Krotevich, turned to the State Bureau of Investigation with a request to check the activities of the lieutenant general, whom he accused of exceeding his official authority and for incompetent command of troops. It is interesting that People’s Deputy Maryana Bezuglaya previously demanded that Sodol be removed from office in her numerous posts on Facebook. Now she calls on the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, to dismiss Sodol from the army in order to bring him to justice. Read about the scandal around Sodol and how it could end in the material: OBOZ.UA.
The Rubicon has been crossed
Lieutenant General Yuri Sodol was relieved of his post by the president after a series of public accusations. “He killed more Ukrainian military men than any Russian general,” Bogdan Krotevich, chief of staff of the Azov National Guard brigade, described Sodol. The military man said that he contacted the DBI so that law enforcement officers could begin an investigation into the general’s actions.
According to the “Azov man”, he first tried to convey information about Sodol to the highest authorities, but was unsuccessful.
“I frankly declare, I tried (not only me, this is a fact, but I speak for myself), spoke in offices, passed on information to everyone relevant. Moreover, when giving testimony in those cases on which I cannot speak, I directly stated, in my opinion, war crimes… I’m sick of it, the Rubicon has been crossed,” writes Krotevich.
As OBOZ.UA learned, the lieutenant general is accused of exceeding his official authority and for being incompetent in his command of troops, which led to the loss of Ukrainian territories.
After such a loud statement by Bohdan Krotevich, the scandal entered the public space and President Zelensky was forced to react to it. In his traditional evening video message on June 24, Zelensky said: “I have decided to replace the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol, with Brigadier General Andrey Gnatov.” The president did not explain his decision.
Demanded not only by “Azov”
It is significant that People’s Deputy Maryana Bezuglaya also for a long time in her posts on Facebook demanded that the country’s leadership remove Sodol and colorfully described all his activities.
“Another crime by the head of the Eastern Front, General Sodol: a breakthrough to Toretsk . Now we have lost the positions that we have had since 2014. Intelligence warned. A day before a possible breakthrough, Sodol removes a brigade from its location and brings in a unit that has already suffered losses and has reduced combat capability. Events are unfolding in such a way that not far from the exit to the highway there are no prepared fortifications again! Fighting in Shumy … It looks like General Sodol is not just showing criminal negligence, but also intent, working for the enemy,” Bezuglaya noted.
She also stated: “According to my information, during the missed breakthrough to Toretsk, the head of the eastern front, General Sodol, was drinking in the Oblaka restaurant in Odessa. I am sending a corresponding request regarding his business trips.” In addition to the text, there was a photo of the general with a glass.
There is a nuance
None of his colleagues in the Ukrainian Armed Forces publicly defended Sodol. However, one of the analysts close to the Defense Forces noted the following in a conversation with OBOZ.UA off records: “Sodom was appointed only in February, and in June he was already removed. Even a school principal cannot take over the case in such a short time. And there is a large front there. From a military point of view, I see no point in removing Sodol. No one explained why he was removed. If the president does not want to do this, then there are a lot of official spokesmen in the Defense Ministry. Let them say. Again, this could have been done without media noise.”
However, as political scientist Vitaly Bala notes, the president did everything to avoid unnecessary hype and negativity towards the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“I assumed that Bohdan Krotevich’s statement regarding Lieutenant General Yuri Sodol would be discussed by influential foreign media. And so it happened. Information about this scandal appeared in almost all major publications. But Zelensky, in my opinion, quickly made an adequate decision by dismissing Sodol from the post of commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which does not provide options for further discussion of this, unfortunately for us, not very positive event. The dismissal of Sodol, I think, was timely. Now we will watch how the case progresses in the State Bureau of Investigation. Negativity in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been put on pause. Here the authorities worked correctly,” he said in a comment to OBOZ.UA.
However, experts drew attention to the fact that Sodol remained in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, retaining another important position. The lieutenant general continues to head the command of the OSGV “Khortitsa”.
Maryana Bezuglaya drew attention to this and demanded that Syrsky “take a technical step” and free Sodol from Khortitsa. “He should not go for a promotion, an “equivalent” position, or hide in some academy. Without punishment, without responsibility, this is all a dead end,” the people’s deputy noted.
This information was also confirmed by the DeepState project: “Unfortunately, Yuriy Sodol still remains in charge of the command of the OSUS “Khortitsa.” What will be the future fate of Yuriy Sodol is unknown, but it would be best for his future to turn into an investigation into his activities and prosecution. We are sure that many fighters have something to tell about this man.”
By the way, back in May, when Yuriy Sodol was appointed to command the Khortitsa Special Operations Group, public activist Sergei Sternenko called this decision a personnel disaster.
“To understand: “Khortitsa” is the entire eastern front – from the north of the Kharkov region to Vugledar. And this appointment is a personnel disaster. It was difficult to imagine a worse candidate who did not care about the life of a soldier. Previously, Sodol commanded the Marine Corps. Not a single combat Marine will not say a censorious word about him. There are a lot of examples on the Internet when Sodol simply “ground down” the Marine Corps – from the tragedy with the 37th Marine Brigade to sending Marines to the left bank without any support or protection,” Sternenko wrote then on his page on the social network. X.
Who will have to answer
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence refused to comment on the scandal with General Sodol to the OBOZ.UA journalist, citing the fact that the prerogative to appoint or remove commanders belongs to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. People’s deputies noted in the conversation that the issue of Sodol was not discussed at the committee.
However, committee member Solomiya Bobrovskaya published a post on her Facebook page with an eloquent hint: “Whether someone likes it or not, the moment will come when the military command, like the political leadership, will have to answer publicly, including for certain orders, operations and, as a result, the loss of people. You can even mobilize the whole country, but if there is a bestial attitude towards people and a lack of understanding that everyone is valuable (not only because for the state it is 15 million UAH), then there may be a chance to find motivation for the military again. Service and trust in military commanders. And as a result, eradicate the Soviet legacy in the Ukrainian defense forces.”
This guy needs to be investigated, and thoroughly! I hope that the Ukrainians will be able to uncover every relevant aspect about his command methodologies.
And this…
“…eradicate the Soviet legacy in the Ukrainian defense forces.”
Should be top priority. We see in the cockroach army what harm a Soviet-era type command structure has on its own troops.