The President of Ukraine Volodimir Zelensky fire him today commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces following accusations by another Ukrainian military commander for incompetence and abuse of power amid the Russian invasion.
“I have decided to replace the commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Yury Sondol, with General Andriy Gnatov,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
The president did not specify the reasons for this dismissal, but it comes after criticism from a commander of the notorious Azov brigade, known for its links to ultranationalist circles.
That commander, Bogdan Krotevic, reported this morning that filed a complaint with the Ukrainian security services (SBU) to demand the opening of an investigation against Sodol.
According to Ukrainian media, Krotevych accuses Sodol of incompetence that led to the death of Ukrainian soldiers and the retreat at the front.
The Ukrainian military has been struggling since the failure of its counteroffensive in the summer of 2023, with Russian troops capturing villages in the east and south of the country almost every week but without achieving a significant victory.
The Russian military launched a parallel ground offensive in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv province in early May, seizing several locations before being slowed by reinforcements sent from Kiev.
The Ukrainian military, for its part, suffers from a lack of recruits due to slow mobilization and equipment due to delays in aid deliveries from the West.
AMP Source