Zelensky ousts military commander amid accusations of misconduct

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed General Yurii Sodol, the Commander of the United Armed Forces of Ukraine. The day before, Bohdan Krotewych, the Chief of Staff of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard, requested the Ukrainian Intelligence Service investigate Sodol, accusing him of massive losses in the units.

In his evening speech, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that, after meeting with the Supreme Commander, Chief of the General Staff, and the Minister of National Defence, he decided to "replace the Commander of the United Armed Forces, General Yurii Sodol, with General Andrii Hnatov."

The day before, Bohdan Krotewych, the Chief of Staff of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard, requested that the State Bureau of Investigations of Ukraine (SBI) investigate General Sodol.

Sources from Ukrainian Pravda report that Krotewych accuses the general of "exceeding his authority and incompetent military command, " leading to the "loss of a large part of Ukraine's territory." He requests that the commander be checked "for collaboration with the enemy."

"In my opinion, he (through his decisions - ed. note) killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general. While giving testimony in matters that I cannot discuss, I spoke about, in my opinion, committed war crimes," - Krotewych wrote on Telegram.

Krotewych also stated that he doesn't care if an investigation is initiated against him or if he goes to prison. SBI officially confirmed receiving the notification on Monday afternoon.

As we read in the extensive post on Telegram published on Sunday, "The entire army understands who I am talking about because 99 per cent of the soldiers hate him for what he does".

"This person initiates investigations against commanders who move forward and do not lose positions, but does not initiate official investigations against himself" - Krotewych wrote. "The Rubicon has been crossed. (...) And the only thing I will always be ashamed of is that I didn’t do it earlier. Fortune favours the brave, and some creatures are helped by the fact that the majority remains silent, understanding the consequences of 'personal revenge' on themselves and their units. That is why I emphasise that this is my personal decision and I fully accept its consequences" - confessed the soldier from the Azov Brigade.