Following military setbacks, Zelensky dismisses the commander of the Ukrainian joint forces

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he fired the commander of the Armed Forces' Joint Forces, Lieutenant-General Yuri Sudol, after reports emerged that he had performed poorly during the 28-month war with Russia.

Zelensky, who was speaking in his video evening speech yesterday, Monday, did not give any reason for his dismissal. It was announced that Brigadier General Andrei Hnatov would replace Sudol in the position, whose duties include strategic planning for operations.

Sudol's dismissal followed the publication of a letter from Bohdan Krutievich, the head of the Azov Battalion, respected in Ukraine, in which he said Sudol's actions had led to serious military setbacks.

Krutevich said in a post on the Telegram application, in which he did not mention Sudol by name, that there is a general who “killed more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general.” He wrote: “What concerns me is that the commanders of battalions and combat brigades are being tried for the loss of a control center, but a general is not being tried for the loss of areas, dozens of cities, and thousands of soldiers.”

The online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, citing a leaked report, said a criminal complaint had been filed against Sudol, who was promoted earlier this year. She said that Krutevich was ready to testify against him.

Hnatov had been deputy commander of the Southern Theater of Operations since 2022, and played a leading role in reclaiming much of the southern Kherson region from Russian invaders.

In the spring of 2023, he led the defense of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, a city that eventually fell to Russian forces after many months of fierce battles.

On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, stipulating for its end that Kiev “abandoned” plans to join military entities, which prompted capitals, led by Washington, to impose severe economic sanctions on Moscow.