The dismissal of Lt Gen Yuriy Sodol comes amid a series of personnel changes by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
President Zelenskiy replaced the commander of the Joint Forces Command of Ukraine’s military after a well-known soldier accused Sodol of causing mass casualties in the war with Russia.
In his nightly video address on Monday, Zelenskiy announced that Lt Gen Yuriy Sodol had been replaced by Brig Gen Andriy Hnatov, without providing a specific reason for the change.
Sodol’s removal followed accusations from Bohdan Krotevych, the leader of Ukraine’s revered Azov regiment, who blamed the general for significant military setbacks and major personnel losses.
Krotevych, in a post on the Telegram messaging app, did not name Sodol directly but stated that an unnamed general “has killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general.”
“All the military personnel now understand who I am talking about because 99% of the military hate him for what he does,” Krotevych said, adding that he had appealed to Ukraine’s state bureau of investigation (SBI) to look into Sodol’s actions.
After Sodol’s dismissal was announced, Krotevych commented, “Hnatov is a very good officer. I hope the news at the front will get better.”
Sodol had been appointed last February during a controversial military reshuffle that saw Col Gen Oleksandr Syrsky replace Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, a popular commander who had strained relations with Zelenskiy.
Ukraine has recently made several military changes as Kyiv’s forces aim to shift the tide, with troops largely on the defensive.
Sodol led Ukraine’s eastern and southern land forces, which have been grappling with Russia’s advancing offensive that has gained momentum in recent months.
Hnatov had served as deputy commander of the southern theatre of operations since 2022 and played a leading role in recapturing much of the southern Kherson region from Russian invaders.
Ukrainian military observers welcomed Sodol’s dismissal. Illia Ponomarenko, the former defense reporter at the Kyiv Independent, described Sodol as an “extremely unpopular high-ranking military commander with a notoriously gruesome service.”
In a boost to Kyiv, EU officials announced late on Monday night that the bloc had approved a first tranche of up to €1.4bn (£1.1bn) in military aid for Ukraine from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets. Separately, the US is expected to announce an additional $150 million (£118 m) in munitions to Ukraine.
