Commander of Ukraine's 59th Brigade replaced, media reports
Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Shevchuk was dismissed as the commander of the 59th Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Sak, Ukrainska Pravda reported on May 18, citing its sources in the brigade.
The 59th Brigade, deployed in the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, underwent the emergency leadership change between May 15 and 16 on the order of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, one military source told the news outlet.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
The brigade's new reported commander, Sak, previously led the 53rd Mechanized Brigade fighting in the Kreminna area.
The reasons behind the move have not been disclosed, though Ukrainska Pravda's sources suggested it could be linked to the worsening situation in the Pokrovsk sector.
The mining town has been the epicenter of some of the heaviest battles in Donetsk Oblast as Russian forces have been trying to capture the strategically important settlement for months.
Syrskyi claimed earlier in May that Ukraine has managed to stabilize the situation in the sector and seize the initiative in some areas.
The 59th Brigade, previously named the 59th Motorized Rifle Brigade, came under Syrskyi's scrutiny in July 2024 after Azovstal defender and medic Kateryna Polishchuk, known under the nickname Ptashka ("bird"), called for an investigation into the unit over Shevchuk's alleged misconduct.
The unit was reorganized into an assault brigade under the Unmanned Systems Forces in January 2025, but retained its commander at the time.
Anna Fratsyvir
