Ukrainian filmmaker Oleh Sentsov promoted to battalion commander
Ukrainian filmmaker and activist Oleh Sentsov has been appointed commander of a battalion in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Suspilne reported on Sept. 14.
Sentsov now leads a battalion of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Magura,” according to reports.
“When Russia recognizes this war as a mistake, when Russia is ready to give up our territory, to say that we were wrong, sorry, we will repent all our lives. This will be a victory for me. I believe that this day will come," Sentsov said at the YES conference in Kyiv.
He joined the Armed Forces in March 2022 after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in Ukraine.
There, he rose through the ranks from platoon commander to assault company commander, to eventually battalion commander.
Sentsov has fought in several major battles, including near Avdiivka, and sustained multiple injuries.
In 2023, he confirmed publicly that he had been wounded and treated in a hospital for a concussion before returning to the front lines.
Sentsov was one of the most high-profile political prisoners held by Russia. He was arrested in Crimea in 2014 by the Russian authorities on the occupied peninsula and later sentenced to 20 years in prison for so-called "terrorism," charges internationally recognized to have been politically motivated. He was released in 2019 during a prisoner swap.
