Gen. Yuriy Sodol faces criminal charges for wartime decisions

The Kyiv Court of Appeal has ordered the initiation of a criminal case against General Yuriy Sodol, the former commander of the United Armed Forces of Ukraine. Gen. Sodol, who earned the nickname "the butcher" due to his numerous and irrational orders, was dismissed in June by President Zelenskyy.

Gen. Yuriy Sodol was dismissed in June by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This followed a report from the chief of staff of the Azov Brigade of the National Guard, Bohdan Krotevych, who accused Sodol of causing "huge losses in units."

"In my opinion, he killed (through his decisions - editor's note) more Ukrainian soldiers than any Russian general. While testifying in cases where I cannot go into detail, I mentioned - in my opinion - war crimes committed," wrote Krotevych at the time on Telegram.

On the same day, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) confirmed that it had received a notification regarding the general, but later investigators decided to close the case due to the alleged "lack of a committed crime."

On Monday, the Kyiv Court of Appeal, after reviewing the appeal, ordered the SBI to initiate proceedings against Gen. Sodol. "According to the new decision, within one day of receiving a copy of the court's ruling, the SBI must begin an investigation into military service negligence," the ruling states.

Krotevych accused the general of "exceeding authority and incompetently commanding troops, which led to the loss of a large part of Ukraine's territory" and asked for an investigation into the commander's "collaboration with the enemy."

"Sodol did not value personnel, neither officers nor soldiers," said a marine brigade soldier who participated in the battles near Krynyky in an interview with liga.net. He recalls that marines were sent to attack until the last one. "Tens, if not hundreds of soldiers died," the soldier reported.

One of the soldiers recorded a conversation with Gen. Sodol. "Forward, forward, until the last marine," you can hear on the recording. "Sodol is a typical commander from the times of Chechnya and Afghanistan," said the Ukrainian soldier.

"He is far from a modern officer. There were rumors that they even drew a paper map for him, although before the operation in Kherson, everyone used secure electronic maps. We asked: where can we go to the left bank. The answer was: you will get this information from the locals," the soldiers reported.