Umerov dismisses chief of Missile, Artillery, and UAV Forces
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov dismissed Brigadier General Serhii Baranov from his position as head of the Missile, Artillery, and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Forces, the division announced on May 14.
The Missile, Artillery, and UAV Forces is a part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that specializes in strategic planning and participation in combat operations with the use of missiles, howitzers, cannons, mortars, jet-propelled and anti-tank artillery, as well as drones.
"This is the moment when I have to say, ' thank you,' but we are not saying goodbye! By Ukraine's Defense Minister's order, I was assigned to an equally important and responsible area of activity," Baranov wrote.
The general did not specify which position he would be appointed to.
The new head of the Missile, Artillery, and UAV Forces has not yet been announced.
Baranov had been leading the Missile, Artillery, and UAV Forces since 2023. The same year, President Volodymyr Zelensky promoted him to Brigadier General.
Baranov previously served as the head of the 57th Separate Infantry Brigade in 2019 and was a deputy commander of the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" in 2017.
Baranov also took part in the battle for the Donetsk Airport and the battle of Debaltsevo city in Donetsk Oblast at the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
Earlier this year, Zelensky reshuffled Ukraine's military command, dismissing Ukraine's top military commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi in February.
In April, more changes in high-level military command were announced, including new appointments in the Southern, Eastern, and Western Operational Commands.
Rachel Amran
