Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol after public criticism over excessive casualties and accusations of incompetence, according to the BBC.
Sodol served as commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov was appointed in his place. However, Zelensky did not explain the reason for his decision, which he announced during his Monday night video message.
Hours before the move, the chief of staff of the Azov Brigade, Major Bohdan Krotevych, reportedly filed a complaint with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). He claimed that Sodol “had more Ukrainian soldiers killed than any Russian general.” Krotevych also claimed that the dismissed general “was not being investigated for the loss of regions and dozens of cities and the loss of thousands of soldiers.”
Sometimes it seems to me that the world sends us scum [to fight against] in order to unite us. And the whole military understand who I’m talking about because 99% of the military hate him for what he does.
Yuriy Sodol has been commander of the Joint Forces since February 2024, when Oleksandr Syrskyi was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. According to Ukrainian media, Ukraine’s military hierarchy has undergone significant changes in recent months, as Russian troops are slowly but steadily advancing in the east of the country.
Sodol’s incompetence
Member of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) Mariana Bezuhla has once again blamed the leadership of the Ukrainian army for the breakthrough of Russian troops near Toretsk (formerly Dzerzhynsk), Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine. She believes that General Sodol, who is responsible for this section of the front, committed a crime deliberately.
Another crime of the head of the Eastern Front, General Yuriy Sodol: the breakthrough on Toretsk. Now we lost the positions we had since 2014.
Earlier, the Kyiv authorities reported a forced evacuation from the city. According to Ukrainian media, Russian troops broke through the AFU defence line near Toretsk, gaining a foothold in one of the city’s microdistricts. The Ukrainian soldiers did not hold their defence at the previously prepared positions and retreated into the city, which may indicate a shortage of people to control the defensive perimeter.
Trump’s advisers plan to cut off military aid to Ukraine
Meanwhile, Keith Kellogg and Fred Fleitz, two key advisers to US presidential candidate Donald Trump, have presented him with a plan to end the war in Ukraine. It is based on Kyiv’s claim that it will only receive more US weapons if it enters peace talks.
Washington would also warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate would lead to increased support for Ukraine, retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg stated in an interview published by Reuters on 25 June. Kellogg argued that it would be crucial to bring Russia and Ukraine to the negotiating table as soon as possible if Trump won the upcoming US election.
We tell the Ukrainians, ‘You’ve got to come to the table, and if you don’t come to the table, support from the United States will dry up.
According to Kellogg and Fleitz, Russia may come to the negotiating table if NATO postpones Ukraine’s membership for an extended period. Fleitz also stated that Ukraine was unlikely to regain effective control over all of its territory in the near future.
