Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Shevchuk was dismissed because the commander of the 59th Brigade of the Unmanned Programs Forces and changed by Colonel Oleksandr Sak, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Might 18, citing its sources within the brigade.
The 59th Brigade, deployed within the Pokrovsk sector in Donetsk Oblast, underwent the emergency management change between Might 15 and 16 on the order of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, one navy supply instructed the information outlet.
The Kyiv Impartial couldn’t confirm the claims.
The brigade's new reported commander, Sak, beforehand led the 53rd Mechanized Brigade preventing within the Kreminna space.
The explanations behind the transfer haven’t been disclosed, although Ukrainska Pravda's sources advised it could possibly be linked to the worsening state of affairs within the Pokrovsk sector.
The mining city has been the epicenter of a number of the heaviest battles in Donetsk Oblast as Russian forces have been attempting to seize the strategically essential settlement for months.
Syrskyi claimed earlier in Might that Ukraine has managed to stabilize the state of affairs within the sector and seize the initiative in some areas.
The 59th Brigade, beforehand named the 59th Motorized Rifle Brigade, got here underneath Syrskyi's scrutiny in July 2024 after Azovstal defender and medic Kateryna Polishchuk, recognized underneath the nickname Ptashka ("chook"), referred to as for an investigation into the unit over Shevchuk's alleged misconduct.
The unit was reorganized into an assault brigade underneath the Unmanned Programs Forces in January 2025, however retained its commander on the time.
The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir