A former high-ranking Ukrainian commander has called for the country’s army chief to resign, accusing him of lacking strategic imagination and endangering the lives of Ukrainian soldiers with orders “bordering on criminality”.
Bohdan Krotevici, who resigned from his position as chief of staff of the Azov Brigade in February, partly to be able to speak openly, stated that he believes General Oleksandr Sirskîi, the commander of the armed forces, “must go”, and that the military leadership of Ukraine needs to be changed, according to The Guardian. The veteran complained in an interview that Sirskîi and the existing leadership were engaged in “manual micro-management of the entire army” and highlighted orders given to soldiers and units that forced them to rest and be based too close to the front.
“I began receiving orders from the high command of the army, from the chief commander of the General Headquarters, which increasingly bordered on criminality, which I, in my conscience, could not carry out and follow,” Krotevici stated.
One of the most well-known Ukrainian soldiers, 32-year-old Krotevici served in Azov since 2014 and survived the last confrontation at the Azovstal steel plant in spring 2022. Captured by Russian forces, he endured a short period of captivity before being exchanged.