Ukraine's General Staff initiated an internal investigation on May 18 following the resignation of Oleksandr Shyrshyn, commander of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, who criticized military leadership for what he described as senseless orders and unnecessary casualties.
"By order of the chief of the General Staff, a working group has been set up for a comprehensive study of the circumstances outlined (by Shyrshyn)," the General Staff wrote in a statement.
It pledged to analyze orders issued at multiple levels of the command hierarchy for their relevance to the battlefield situation and make "appropriate decisions" following the inspection.
Shyrshyn's resignation, posted to Facebook on May 16, was unusually direct.
"I have never received more stupid objectives than in the current direction," he wrote. "The stupid loss of people, trembling in front of stupid generals, leads to nothing but failures."
Shyrshyn added, "I hope your children will also serve in the infantry and carry out your orders."
He further accused top brass of focusing on punishments over results. "All they are capable of is reprimands, investigations, imposition of penalties. Everyone is going to hell," he wrote.
The 47th Brigade, known as "Magura," was formed in 2022 and became one of Ukraine's most prominent Western-trained units ahead of the summer 2023 counteroffensive. Its soldiers were trained in NATO countries and equipped with modern U.S.- and European-made gear.
In 2024, the brigade participated in Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast — the first Ukrainian ground operation into Russian territory since World War II.
The operation sought to delay a planned Russian push into Ukraine's Sumy Oblast and redirect Russian forces away from eastern Donetsk Oblast.
After initial gains in August 2024, Russian forces launched a major counteroffensive in March 2025, retaking much of the territory, including the town of Sudzha. Ukrainian forces withdrew from most of the area, though they still hold limited positions as of late April.
Tim Zadorozhnyy
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