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Zelensky dismisses Lieutenant General accused by soldiers of heavy losses

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Zelensky dismisses Lieutenant General accused by soldiers of heavy losses
President Volodymyr Zelensky during his visit to the front line positions in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast on March 27, 2023. (President's Office)

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on June 24 that he had replaced the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Yurii Sodol, with Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov.

Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, one of the Azov Brigade's commanders, said on June 23 that he filed an official complaint to the State Bureau of Investigation calling for an investigation of one of the generals.

"I wrote to the SBI calling for an investigation into one military general, who, in my opinion, has killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general," he wrote.

He did not specify the general's name.

According to Ukrainska Pravda's undisclosed sources, the general in question was Sodol.
In his evening address, Zelensky did not mention the reasons for Sodol's dismissal.

Sodol has been the Commander of the Joint Forces since Feb. 11, 2024. He also headed the "Donetsk" operational command in 2023.

Hnatov, who replaced Sodol, had previously served as the Deputy Commander of the Southern Operational Command since 2022.

Following the announcement, Krotevych wrote, "Hnatov is a very good officer. I hope the news at the front will get better."

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Kateryna Hodunova

News Editor

Kateryna Hodunova is a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a sports journalist in several Ukrainian outlets and was the deputy chief editor at Suspilne Sport. Kateryna covered the 2022 Olympics in Beijing and was included in the Special Mentions list at the AIPS Sport Media Awards. She holds a bachelor's degree in political journalism from Taras Shevchenko University and a master's degree in political science from the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.

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