General dismissed over heavy losses in Ukraine war command shake-up
- Sodol did not value the personnel, neither officers nor soldiers - says a marine infantry brigade soldier in an interview with liga.net who took part in the battles near Krynkami. He recounts that marines were sent to attack relentlessly. - There were tens, if not hundreds, of soldiers dying - adds the soldier. General Sodol was dismissed on Monday.
On Wednesday, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, announced that he appeared on the front line near Pokrowsk, where the Russians had gathered the vast majority of brigades and assault regiments.
The Ukrainian leader announced that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and the new head of the Joint Forces Operation, General Andriy Hnatov, accompanied him.
On the same day, the portal liga.net published an interview with soldiers commanded by the dismissed General Yuri Sodol. This happened following a report by the Chief of Staff of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard, Bohdan Krotevych, who approached the Security Service of Ukraine to initiate an investigation into Sodol, accusing him of causing enormous losses in the units.
Sources from Ukrayinska Pravda report that Krotevych accuses the general of "exceeding his powers and incompetently commanding the troops," which led to the "loss of large parts of Ukrainian territory" and requests a review of the commander for "potential collaboration with the enemy."
In my opinion, he (with his decisions - ed. note) killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general. When giving statements on matters I cannot discuss, I mentioned, in my opinion, committed war crimes," wrote Krotevych on Telegram.
- Sodol did not value the personnel, neither officers nor soldiers - a marine infantry brigade soldier who took part in the assaults near Krynkami told the portal liga.net. The soldier recalls that "marines were sent to attack where it was physically impossible."
Responsible for the death of thousands of soldiers. "Until the last one"
- We are talking about Sodol and how he did not value people in the military. Publicity was the right decision in this situation - adds Fyodor Venislavsky, a deputy of the People's Servant Defence Committee of the Verkhovna Rada, on the portal.
The Chief of Staff of Azov was not the first to criticise Sodol. Previously, volunteer Sergey Sternenko and MP Maryana Bezluga had also criticised him. Back then, he was already accused of personnel negligence, leading to casualties among the soldiers.
One of the military personnel recorded a conversation with General Sodol. - Forward, forward, until the last marine - is heard on the recording. - Sodol is a typical commander from the times of Chechnya and Afghanistan - says a Ukrainian soldier.
"We assaulted because it was an order"
- He is far from a modern officer - adds the soldier. - There were rumours that they even drew a paper map for him, although everyone used secure electronic maps before the operation in Kherson. We asked: where can one get to the left bank? The answer was: you will get this information from the locals - comments the soldier.
- We assaulted because it was an order - admits the Ukrainian marine.
"I don't care if battalion commanders and brigade commanders are judged for losing an observation post, but the general is not judged for losing regions, dozens of towns, and thousands of soldiers" - wrote one of the defenders of Mariupol.
- Brigade commanders tried to prove to Sodol that at Krynkami, the army was losing soldiers in tens, if not hundreds - said a soldier. He adds that as a part of revenge, Sodol sent one of these commanders on leave, after which he removed him from his post.
