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Hero of Ukraine
Yurii Sodol
Hero of Ukraine Yurii Sodol
Ю́рій Іва́нович Со́доль
	Sodol in 2015
Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
	In office; February 11, 2024 – June 24, 2024
President	Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Preceded by	Serhii Naiev
Succeeded by	Andrii Hnatov
Commanding General of the Ukrainian Marine Corps
	In office; March 6, 2018 – February 11, 2024
Preceded by	Serhii Tartakovskyi
Succeeded by	Dmytro Delyatytskyi
Personal details
Born	Yurii Ivanovych Sodol; 26 December 1970 (age 53); Chuhuiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Education	Sumy Higher Artillery Command School; National Defense University of Ukraine
Awards	Hero of Ukraine
Military service
Allegiance	Ukraine
Branch/service	Ukrainian Marine Corps; Ukrainian Air Assault Forces
Years of service	2003−2024
Rank	Lieutenant general
Commands	Ukrainian Marine Corps; 25th Airborne Brigade
Battles/wars	Russo-Ukrainian war War in Donbas; ;

Yurii Sodol (Ukrainian: Юрій Іванович Содоль; born 26 December 1970) is a retired Ukrainian lieutenant general and was the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from February to June 2024.^[3]^[4] Before that, he commanded the Ukrainian Marine Corps from 2018 to 2024.^[5]

Early life and career

Sodol was born on 26 December 1970 in Chuhuiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union. He served in the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, and until 2015 he was the commander of the 25th Airborne Brigade. From 2015 to 2018 he was the First Deputy Commander of the Air Assault Forces.^[5]

In March 2018 the Marine Corps Command was established as a new organization within the Ukrainian Navy, and Yuri Sodol was appointed its Commander.^[5] He was also promoted to lieutenant general.^[6] In May 2023 the Marine Corps was separated from the Navy to become an independent branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.^[7] Sodol remained in this role until February 2024 and is credited with modernizing Ukraine's Marine Corps along NATO standards during his tenure.^[8]

Commander of Joint Forces

In mid-February 2024 he was appointed as the commander of the Ukrainian joint forces at the front line. Sodol's appointment followed the dismissal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi from his role as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.^[8]

Complaints

On 23 June 2024, Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, one of the commanders of the Azov Brigade, filed an official complaint with the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). Krotevych has called for an investigation into the actions of an unnamed military general, accusing him of causing more Ukrainian soldier casualties than any Russian general.^[9]^[10]

While Krotevych did not disclose the general's name in his statement, sources from Ukrainska Pravda suggested that the general in question was Sodol.^[10]

For a long time before his dismissal, the People's Deputy Maryana Bezuhla was calling Sodol in interviews and on social media a "criminal" and a "murderer" on a daily basis.^[11]

On 26 June, The Washington Post published an article, which, according to them, published statements from Krotevych's letter to the SBI. The letter stated that Sodol did not lead the defence of Mariupol and did not spend an any hour in the city, but was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine; that Sodol did not supply the Azov Brigade with ammunition or build defences in Mariupol before the offensive; that when one of the superiors in the city asked Sodol for instructions, Sodol replied: "We are finished" and hung up; that Sodol recently ordered Azov to advance without artillery ammunition and that when arguments were made as to why this was not possible, an internal investigation was launched against the Azov commander; and that Sodol's decisions led to the deaths of thousands of soldiers, resulting in a weak position on the frontline and the loss of a large amount of territory. ^[12]

Also, according to Ukrainska Pravda, Sodol as commander of Khortytsia operational-strategic group was responsible for preparing the defence before the repeated Russian offensive on Kharkiv oblast. Sodol also was in charge of the amphibious operation to establish a bridgehead on the Dnieper in 2023, with fighting taking place at the village of Krynky in the Kherson Oblast. By June 2024, the operation failed and the Ukrainian marines took heavy casualties.^[6]

On 29 June, the Ukrainian media Ukrainska Pravda reported, citing its own sources, that the SBI had replied to Krotevych that it would check General Sodol's actions during the Russian offensive.^[13] Earlier, on 28 June, Krotevych stated that he had received a response from the SBI, but was dissatisfied with it.^[14]

Dismissal

On 24 June 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the replacement of Lieutenant General Yurii Sodol as the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov was appointed as his successor.^[1] Hnatov's appointment was positively received by Krotevych, who described him as a decent military officer.^[15]

On 1 November, according to Ukrainska pravda and Maryana Bezuhla, Yurii Sodol was dismissed from military service based on the conclusion of a military medical board. ^[16]

Awards

Hero of Ukraine (28 February 2022)^[17]
Order of Bogdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class (22 January 2015)^[18]
Order for Courage, 3rd class (14 October 2014)^[19]
Medal For Military Service to Ukraine (3 December 2010)^[20]
Medal "For conscientious service" 2nd class
Medal "15 years of the Armed Forces of Ukraine"
Medal "Veteran of the service"
Award of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine "For Valor and Honor"
Badge "For Achievements in Military Service" 2nd and 1st classes
Badge "For Military Valor"

References

^ ^a ^b Kateryna Hodunova (24 June 2024). "Zelensky dismisses Lieutenant General accused by soldiers of heavy losses". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
^ "В України сформують Корпус морської піхоти" [Marine Corps will be formed in Ukraine]. mil.in.ua (in Ukrainian). 8 January 2018.
^ "Zelensky's A-team: Who is who among Ukraine's new army commanders". www.france24.com. 17 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
^ Sauer, Pjotr (24 June 2024). "Zelenskiy replaces commander leading war on Russia in eastern Ukraine". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Юрій Содоль – командувач морської піхоти" [Yurii Sodol - commander of the Naval Infantry]. mil.in.ua (in Ukrainian). 6 March 2018.
^ ^a ^b Strashkulych, Anhelina; Kyrylenko, Olha (26 June 2024). "Changes in Ukraine's military top brass: who was fired and why, and what we can expect from their successors". Ukrainska Pravda.
^ "On the Day of the Marines, the President of Ukraine visited the frontline positions of Ukrainian defenders in the Donetsk region and presented state awards". Office of the President of Ukraine. 23 May 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Zelensky's A-team: Who is who among Ukraine's new army commanders". France 24. 17 February 2024.
^ "Zelensky dismisses Lieutenant General accused by soldiers of heavy losses". The Kyiv Independent. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
^ ^a ^b Santora, Marc (24 June 2024). "Zelensky Removes a Top General Amid Criticism of Excessive Casualties". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
^ Chernysh, Oleh (26 June 2024). "За что Зеленский уволил генерала Содоля - BBC News Русская служба". BBC.
^ Khurshudyan, Isabelle (26 June 2024). "Amid war setbacks and complaints, Ukraine changes another top general". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ "Former Joint Forces Commander Sodol is responsible for defence preparations in Kharkiv Oblast, Azov chief of staff tells investigators". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ "Начштабу «Азову» Кротевич отримав відповідь від ДБР щодо заяви на Содоля. Каже, що незадоволений нею". hromadske.ua (in Ukrainian). 28 June 2024. Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ "«Сподіваюсь, новини стануть кращими». Кротевич вважає нового командувача Об'єднаних сил Гнатова достойним офіцером". nv.ua (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 29 June 2024.
^ "Former Commander of Joint Forces of Ukrainian Armed Forces dismissed based on report by military medical board". Ukrainska Pravda. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
^ "Зеленський присвоїв звання Герой України 12 військовослужбовцям, із них шістьом посмертно – указ" [Zelensky awarded the title Hero of Ukraine to 12 servicemen, six of them posthumously - decree]. Interfax-Ukraine (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 1 March 2022.
^ Указ Президента України від 22 січня 2015 року № 26/2015. Decree of the President of Ukraine from 22 January 2015 no. 26/2015 (in Ukrainian).
^ Указ президента Украины от 14 жовтня 2014 года № 807/2014. Decree of the President of Ukraine from 14 October 2014 no. 807/2014 (in Ukrainian).
^ Указ президента Украины от 3 грудня 2010 года № 1064/2010. Decree of the President of Ukraine from 3 December 2010 no. 1064/2010 (in Ukrainian).

Military offices
Preceded by Serhii Naiev	Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces 2024	Succeeded by Andrii Hnatov
Preceded by Serhii Tartakovskyi	Commander of the Ukrainian Marine Corps 2018–2024	Succeeded by Dmytro Delyatytskyi
Preceded by Andrii Kovalchuk	Deputy Commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces 2016–2018	Succeeded by Yevhen Moisiuk
Preceded by Oleh Svystak	Commander of the 25th Airborne Brigade 2007–2015	Succeeded by Oleh Zenchenko