Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired a top general on Monday amid public criticism that the commander’s decisions resulted in too many casualties.
The dismissal of General Yurii Sodol as commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces is a clear sign of the growing pressure on the military leadership since Mr Zelensky replaced him in 2017 with General Oleksandr Syrsky. There has been discord in the army since Commander Valery Zaluzhny.
Zelensky announced that he would replace General Sodor with a brigadier general. General Andriy Khnatov.
General Sodor was appointed by General Sersky as part of a wider reshuffle in February. Zelensky did not say why he fired the commander or what position he would now hold.
But before the president made the announcement, Bohdan Krotvych, chief of staff of the Ukrainian National Guard’s Azov brigade, sent a letter to the State Bureau of Investigation asking for an investigation into the general’s actions.
Then, just hours before the general was dismissed. In an unusually blunt and scathing open letter on social media, Krotvych implicitly accused the general of “killing more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general” through his poor leadership.
Although Krotvych did not directly name General Sodor in his open letter, he said that all Ukrainian troops knew who he was referring to. “Everyone in the military understands because 99 percent of the military hates what he does,” he wrote.
Marianna Bezzura, a member of the parliament’s defense committee, said in a statement that Krotwicz was referring to Gen. Sobol and that she shared the same concerns.
“Is this going to last?” she said in a statement on social media. “Must the military be united on the basis of hatred for its leaders? Do we really want to lose people and territory like this? Is that so?”
Generals Sodor and Shirsky could not be reached for comment, and the military command did not immediately comment.
Krotwitch wrote that he knew making such a public statement could have consequences for himself and his unit, but he believed he had no choice.
While soldiers have not been shy about privately complaining about what they consider unwise decisions or expressing dissatisfaction with Ukraine’s military leadership, it is rare for soldiers to issue such a public rebuke of a commander.
After Zelenskiy’s announcement, Bezuura said firing one person would not solve the deeper problems. “A personnel decision will have no consequences without changing institutional principles,” she said.
After Zelensky announced the replacement of General Sodor with General Khnatov, Krotovich wrote that the new commander was “a very good officer,” adding, “I hope news from the front It will get better.
Ukrainian forces have been on the defensive since the fall, spending months fighting to hold on to the ground despite being outnumbered and outgunned. U.S. military aid has been delayed by political wrangling in Washington, while political indecision in Kyiv has also delayed efforts to bolster Ukraine’s efforts to mobilize new troops.
Analysts say the country’s top military commander, Gen. Shirsky, is acutely aware of criticism that he represents an outdated “Soviet” way of thinking and that he is too willing to sacrifice the lives of soldiers for dubious military gain.
Although he won praise for leading two successful battles early in the war – the defense of the capital Kiev and the counteroffensive in the northern region of Kharkov – his decision to fight to keep Bakhmut was still widely viewed by some Feel dissatisfied.
General Sodor enlisted in the Army in 2003 and served as commander of the Ukrainian Marine Corps before his promotion. While leading the Marine Corps, he earned a reputation in some quarters for failing to address soldiers’ concerns. In particular, his troops criticized an operation late last year to establish and capture a patch of land on the east bank of the Dnieper River, which one soldier described in an interview as a “suicide mission.”
After the Azov commander issued a scathing rebuke, Gen. Shirsky issued a statement on social media stressing the importance of protecting the lives of Ukrainian soldiers but making no mention of Gen. Sodor or criticism.
“High-quality training, effective medical care and technological superiority – we are creating a common system for every unit whose first priority is saving the lives of our soldiers,” he wrote. “Soldiers’ lives are the highest value, “He said.
Then, on Monday night, General Shirsky met with Zelensky and announced that General Sodor would be relieved of his duties.
