Ukrainian General Yurii Sodol, who headed the Eastern Front, was dismissed from his post after several months of criticism from deputies, bloggers and statements from the command of the Azov battalion. Criticism began after Maryana Bezugla, a representative of the Servant of the People faction, openly accused the general, who received the title of Hero of Ukraine from President Volodymyr Zelenskyi in February 2022.
Bezugla, a member of the defense committee, previously criticized the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny until he was replaced by Oleksandr Syrskyi in February this year. After that, she drew attention to the activities of Sodol, accusing him of a number of failures, in particular in the Kharkiv region.
Lieutenant General Yurii Sodol found himself under a strong wave of criticism from deputies, bloggers, volunteers and military personnel regarding his activities as the commander of the Eastern Front of Ukraine. The beginning of the criticism was connected with the personal remarks of Maryana Bezugla, who openly accused him of shortcomings in the conduct of the war, in particular in the Kharkiv region.
Later, bloggers Ihor Lachenkov and Serhiy Sternenko also criticized Sodol's activities, emphasizing his "failures" as a Marine Corps commander. On June 23, the chief of staff of the "Azov" brigade, Bohdan Krotevych, submitted a statement to the State Bureau of Investigation regarding one of the military generals, who, according to him, carried out actions that led to casualties among the Ukrainian military.
The State Bureau of Investigation confirmed receipt of the statement regarding Yury Sodol, but as of June 25, the pre-trial investigation had not yet begun. It is known that the application is under review by the department, and no decision has yet been made to initiate a formal investigation.
Sodol, who received the title of Hero of Ukraine from President Zelenskyi, is one of the key figures on the Eastern Front, but his activities have become the subject of intense public debate and discussion in military circles and the public.
Yuriy Sodol was born on December 26, 1970 in Chuguyev, Kharkiv Oblast, in a family with a long military pedigree in the artillery industry. His first place of service was an artillery regiment in the Dnipropetrovsk region, but later he transferred to the landing forces, where he served for the next twenty years.
Sodol made his way from the head of the group to the command of the 25th separate airborne brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In this position, he actively managed the combat operations of paratroopers in 2014 in Donbas, in the battles for Sloviansk, Yampil, Rubizhne, Lyman, Savur-Mohyla, Shakhtarsk, Donetsk Airport and Debaltseve, where his brigade suffered significant losses.
In January 2015, Sodol left the 25th Brigade and became the deputy commander of the Airborne Assault Forces, receiving the rank of general in the same year. A little later, he headed the command of the Marine Corps, whose task was to create this new branch of the military in Ukraine from scratch according to the American model.
During the Great War, Sodol was responsible for the defense in the Mariupol direction, but his activities were criticized after heavy defeats in the battles near Volnovakha and during the siege of Mariupol. After that, he headed the operational-tactical group "Donetsk" and was responsible for the defense in the Vugledarsky direction.
In February 2024, the new Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky invites the experienced general to his headquarters, where he receives command of the United Forces and the Khortytsia operational-strategic group. This group is responsible for a huge section of the front from Pokrovsky to Kharkiv direction, which turned out to be one of the most difficult in military operations against Russian troops.
Although Sodol is already accused of involvement in the failures on the Mariupol route, a formal investigation has not yet begun.
What is Sodol accused of?
General Yurii Sodol was born on December 26, 1970 in Chuguyev, Kharkiv Region, in a family with deep military roots in the artillery industry. His first steps in his military career are connected with the artillery regiment in the Dnipropetrovsk region, after which he joined the landing forces, where he served for twenty years.
Sodol rose from group commander to head of the 25th Separate Airborne Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2014, he led combat operations of paratroopers in difficult conditions in Donbas, in the battles for Sloviansk, Yampil, Rubizhne, Liman, Savur-Mohyla, Shakhtarsk, Donetsk Airport and Debaltseve, where the brigade suffered heavy losses.
In January 2015, Sodol left the 25th Brigade and became the deputy commander of the Airborne Assault Forces, receiving the rank of general the same year. Later, he headed the command of the Marine Corps, where he was responsible for the creation of this new structure in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In February 2024, General Sodol was appointed to the position of commander of the United Forces and the operational-strategic group "Khortytsia", which is responsible for a large part of the front from Pokrovsky to Kharkiv direction. However, immediately after his appointment, loud accusations and criticism from various people began.
Activist and blogger Serhii Sternenko, who has a large audience in Telegram, expressed his skepticism regarding the personnel decision regarding Sodol on the day of his appointment. A few months later, he expressed his position even more harshly, calling this appointment a "personnel disaster" and expressing serious remarks about Sodol's management and his interaction with subordinates.
Deputy Maryana Bezugla also expressed sharp criticism of Sodol, noting his harsh attitude towards subordinates and accusing him of a number of mistakes in the organization of defense on the eastern front. In particular, she drew attention to the general's inability to take into account the abilities of the officers and his precocity in appointing "his" generals to leadership positions.
In addition, blogger Bohdan Krotevych, known by the nickname "Tavr", made incriminating statements against Sodol, noting that he initiates investigations against commanders who actively defend their positions, but does not try to solve their own official problems.
All of these charges relate to both Sodol's leadership on the Marine Corps floor and his new responsibilities at the head of the Joint Forces.
Only a few well-known military figures spoke publicly in defense of General Yuriy Sodol, who was under heavy criticism.
Among them is Hero of Ukraine, former intelligence officer and head of the Kyiv Military Lyceum Ihor Gordiychuk, who condemned those who criticize Sodol. In his post on social networks, he expressed support for the ex-commander and called on "black-faced, insane politicians" not to touch "deserved defenders".
Also, his former subordinate, former head of the medical service of the 25th Airborne Brigade and head of the Zaporizhia Military Hospital, Victor Pysanko, came to the defense of the general. He emphasized that Sodol is the leader whom they followed to liberate the lands of Ukraine and whom he would follow even now without a doubt.
Yuriy Sodol has proven himself as an outstanding commander since the days of the Maidan, when he led the 25th brigade and made it one of the best combat-ready units of the Armed Forces. An important challenge was not only the recognition of the brigade, but also the events during the beginning of the anti-terrorist operation, when it was almost disbanded due to the surrender of weapons and equipment to the separatists. Sodol managed to correct the situation and restore the combat capabilities of the unit.
However, during the great war, he suffered a number of miscalculations, in particular, in managing the defense of Mariupol. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, due to the failure of the front near Volnovakha and the capture of a marine brigade, Sodol was temporarily removed from his post, and there was even talk of criminal prosecution.
The informed interviewee noted that although Sodol returned to his post and carried out several successful operations, including the repulse of the Russian offensive near Vugledar and the liberation of Ukrainian villages on the Vremiivsky ledge, his work is still discussed and criticized in social networks and the mass media.
It is worth noting that the interviewer does not agree with the idea that Sodol has constant conflicts or mistrust from subordinates. He also noted that the general's personal qualities do not indicate anti-Ukrainian or pro-Russian sympathies, even under extraneous circumstances, such as, for example, a photo in a restaurant in Odesa.
Currently, the situation surrounding Sodol remains ambiguous, and public dialogues about his work continue among the military and politicians.
Who will replace Sodol
They quickly found a replacement - young general Andrii Hnatov, who has an impressive career in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Andriy Hnatov graduated from the Kharkiv Tank School, but began his career in the marines. He was one of those marines who faithfully fulfilled their oath, leaving Crimea during the occupation.
After moving to the mainland, he took the position of chief of staff, and then commander of the 36th brigade of "Sea Seals". During the full-scale war, he managed the defense of Mykolaiv and was responsible for the successful counteroffensive in the Kherson region in the fall of 2022, working as the chief of staff of the "South" operational command.
In the spring campaign of the following year, he participated in the defense of Bakhmut under the leadership of the then head of the Ground Forces, General Syrskyi. Assessments of the Bakhmut operation are divided: some experts see it as a great loss for Ukraine, others consider it a success, in particular due to significant losses at the Russian private military company "Wagner".
Andrii Hnatov has been awarded numerous awards, including the Cross of Military Merit, the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky III degree and the medal "For Military Service to Ukraine".
"Hnatov is a very worthy officer. I hope his appointment will help to improve the situation at the front, but he faces extremely difficult challenges in the conditions of growing Russian pressure in the east of Ukraine," said Bohdan Krotevych, commenting on Hnatov's new appointment as chief of staff of Azov.
