Ukrainians fear not so much the war itself but incompetent commander like General Sodol, who is trying to evade responsibility.
Ukrainian activist, lawyer, and YouTuber Serhii Sternenko opens up new details about butcher General Sodol.
Bohdan Krotevych, the chief of staff of the Azov National Guard brigade, published a post about how the system is protecting General Sodol. Let me remind you a bit about who Sodol is and why we are talking about him at all.
General Sodol was the commander of the Marine Corps, and before that, he was supposed to command the defense of Mariupol, for which he received the Hero of Ukraine award without being in Mariupol. Later, he was appointed commander of the Marine Corps, and during the time he commanded the Marine Corps, unfortunately, our marines suffered huge, tremendous losses.
This was largely due to Sodol’s absolutely inadequate command. There have been many stories about this on social networks, about Krynky, and about the direction of Velyka Novosilka, Urozhaine, Staromayorske, about how the boys were sent to storm in columns and then the columns were completely destroyed, with many casualties. There was also an episode near Donetsk airport. In short, a lot has already been said about Sodol.
If you’re interested, you can google and find out who he is. After the scandal with the Marine Corps, Sodol was promoted. When the commander-in-chief changed, he became the commander of the Joint Forces of Ukraine and was simultaneously appointed as the commander of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group.
This means he was responsible for the entire eastern front. Since there were constantly problems on the Eastern Front as well, when the Russian forces broke through to Toretsk, Sodol was in Odesa, where he was having fun, drinking alcohol. The next day, he awarded the Russian citizen Hennadiy Trukhanov with an order for service and valor.
This was the last straw. Sodol had already been publicly criticized before, but this was really the final straw, after which Bohdan Krotevych spoke out. Krotevych, more than anyone else, knows about the defense of Mariupol, which Sodol was supposedly supposed to be involved in. He knows a lot.
Moreover, I understand that there was some interaction between this brigade and Sodol. He tried to influence it. Nevertheless, Krotevych spoke out publicly and also declared the need to change the approach to managing troops by our commanders, spoke out against Sodol, and this was the last straw.
After this, President of Ukraine Zelensky announced that he was removing Sodol from the position of commander of the Joint Forces. He was also removed from the position of commander of Khortytsia operational-strategic group. But nothing further happened. Sodol, according to the information I have, is currently or possibly has already been discharged from one of the medical institutions to be discharged from the Ukrainian army due to health reasons.
It would seem that if a commander of such a level is removed from office, especially since a short period has passed since he was appointed, he probably failed to cope with the tasks assigned to him, and perhaps it is worth conducting at least some kind of internal investigation.
But no. Returning to what Bohdan Krotevych wrote recently—you can, by the way, go to his Telegram, just search for “Bohdan Krotevych,” find and read this post. He wrote about how he is currently trying to achieve criminal liability for Sodol. The point is, he filed a statement with the State Bureau of Investigations demanding that a criminal case be opened regarding the actions of General Sodol.
According to Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, the State Bureau of Investigations is obliged to open a criminal case within 24 hours. There is a statement—there must be a criminal case, and nothing else. However, the State Bureau of Investigations refused to open a criminal case and did not even summon Krotevych for questioning to give evidence, even though he indicated in his statement that he was ready to testify.
Then the most interesting part began. Krotevych went to court to force the State Bureau of Investigations to open a criminal case through a court order. And suddenly, the judge assigned to the case went on vacation. So, through his lawyers, he applied to the court again, demanding the case be reassigned to another judge for a quicker review, and this happened.
The case was reassigned, and then the new judge decided she also needed a vacation. This is not happening by chance. Krotevych wrote that he received many calls during this time, including hints that he should take care of his own safety, that Sodol is being protected and deliberately not held accountable.
At a time when we are in a serious war, fighting an opponent who significantly outnumbers us in terms of resources, we, as a state, should be doing everything to ensure the lives and health of our personnel are valued higher, to preserve the lives of our soldiers. We should have made Sodol’s case a prominent example, so other commanders would look at his case and think, “No, I’d better protect my soldiers.
I’d better act differently than face the consequences like Sodol.” But Sodol remains unpunished. This sets another example: other commanders now see that even if you completely disregard the lives and health of the servicemen you command, the worst that can happen is you might be removed from your position if there is public pressure and outcry. Because Sodol was only removed from his position after public pressure and outcry.
This means you can act with impunity, as nothing more serious will happen to you. However, as I have repeatedly said, Sodol is not the root cause, but a symptom of our semi-Soviet military system, where often those responsible for the lives and health of people have no idea what war is, especially modern warfare.
And this also relates to the topic of mobilization. I’m curious if the higher command has ever considered why, for example, there are still queues of volunteers lining up for the Third Assault Brigade, the National Guard Azov and the Unmanned Systems Forces, while for many other units and formations, people sometimes have to be mobilized forcibly.
It’s because people are not so much afraid of the war itself, but of inadequate commanders. People are willing to join combat units where the lives and health of soldiers are valued and do not want to end up under some hypothetical Sodol.
I really didn’t want to make this video, but I understand that without publicity, nothing will change. I would strongly advise our higher military and political leadership to look into the current mood among Ukrainian servicemen, how they view the Sodol case and others, draw conclusions, and deliver justice to the Ukrainian military. Because change and reform start with justice, and our military clearly needs serious reform.
I am saying this not only because I am pained by this situation, but also because many servicemen are constantly asking me to keep discussing this topic, not to forget it, and to keep the focus on the issue, at least with Sodol. Krotevych wrote about this, and I’m saying it too. I also have many servicemen, officers, and senior officers who are ready to testify officially, not hiding their names and faces, providing evidence about General Sodol and those he brought into command positions.
This requires an unbiased and effective investigation. This requires simply starting to enforce the law.
