In a dramatic turnaround, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday fired the Commander-in-Chief of the country's Joint Operations Forces, Lieutenant General Yuri Sudol. He has now been replaced by Brigadier General Andrej Hnatov, according to the Russia Today website. Independent Kyiv.

-I hate him

The resignation came after a strong speech from Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krutivic, the commander of the controversial Azov battalion. Krutevich wrote on Telegram on Sunday that he had filed a formal complaint with… Ukrainian State Investigative Agency DBR:

– I wrote to the DBR requesting an investigation into a general who, in my opinion, killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general, I wrote to the lieutenant colonel and continued:

– All the military now understand who I am talking about, as 99% of the military hate him because of what he does.

Unnamed sources confirm the opposite Ukrainian Pravda That it was about the supreme general.

During his speech, President Zelensky did not give any reason for dismissing Sudol. Krutevich, in turn, pointed back:

– Hnatov is a very good officer. I hope the news from the front is better now.

feel depressed

Lieutenant General Sudol was responsible, among other things, for the defense of Mariupol. The Russians took control of the city in May 2022, after fierce battles against soldiers from the Azov Battalion, among others, who holed up for weeks in Azovstal's steel mills, long after the rest of the city had fallen.

In the complaint filed with the DBR, which Washington Post Krotevytsj managed to reach out, and he is highly critical of Sodol's efforts in Mariupol. He claims that the soldiers of the Azov battalion did not receive ammunition, and that the city's defense was not strengthened in the face of the Russian attack.

– Although General Sudol did not manage the defense of the city and did not spend a single hour in Mariupol, he was awarded the “Hero of Ukraine” award, writes the lieutenant colonel.

He claims the team showed blatant incompetence, such as when he reportedly said “we were misled” and hung up when a commander in Mariupol asked him for orders.

General Sudol performed poorly in commanding the troops, and his decisions led to the deaths of thousands of soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard and other defense units. This led to a weakened situation at the front and widespread loss of territory, the Azov battalion officer wrote in the complaint – which appears to have been accepted.

Demanding

The shooting comes at a difficult stage in the war in Ukraine, which is retreating in several places: in February, the central town of Avdizhievka in Donbas fell, along with several nearby villages. In addition, the Russians advanced north of Avdiivka and attacked the town of Chasev Yar.

The Kharkiv region in the northeast has been under new violent attacks since May, with the Russians seizing more territory near the border.

Sudol's departure after just four months in office is the latest in a series of dismissals by Defense Minister Oleksandr Sirsky, who, among other things, disbanded an entire brigade. [avdeling på flere tusen soldater] Who was stationed in the hollows of a jar.

Sersky himself is facing problems with his popularity, after he was inaugurated by President Zelensky in February. He has a reputation for being brutal and Soviet-like in his leadership style, often responding to criticism by removing critical junior officers from their posts, according to The Washington Post.

Mariana Bezuhla, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament's Defense Committee, called on Cirsky to resign. Sudol also described the expelled person as a “criminal.”