Former advisor to the Minister of Defense Serhiy Sternenko reported torture and murder of servicemen in certain assault units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Sternenko stated about the “criminalization” of the army and mentioned Syrsky / © TSN
With the tacit consent of the top military command, overtly criminal practices of violence and torture are spreading in certain units, particularly those associated with the circle of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky. These practices are destroying the army from within and undermining mobilization.
This strong statement was made by public figure and volunteer, as well as former advisor to the now former Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov, Serhiy Sternenko, who harshly criticized the processes currently occurring in some assault formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Let’s look at Mr. Syrsky then. What is happening with his personal guard, with some assault units, and even one mechanized brigade attached to one of the assault regiments – this is the criminalization of the Ukrainian army. This is the transformation of the Ukrainian army, at least some of its formations, into an analogue of Russian formations,” he is convinced.
Sternenko recalled recent public scandals when journalists found out that people in these units could be tortured, killed, beaten, and subjected to other forms of violence.
“One of the soldiers, who himself asked to join the army, died after being tied to a quad bike and dragged along the ground. Today I saw another news story about a marine being abducted, then his body was found without internal organs and without a head, and his car ended up with ‘Skel’. How is this happening? Who is responsible for this? We are choosing between this and what Mykhailo Fedorov started doing, such criminalization of the army,” says the volunteer.
He recalled the horrific scandal with the former head of the ‘Skel’ unit, Stanislav Luchanov, under whose orders two people were abducted from the Kyiv region and subsequently killed.
Sternenko warned that such “criminalization” of the army would lead to mobilization becoming completely unrealistic.
“Because it is impossible to conduct mobilization and send people to where they are killed. Yes, it is war, and people die in war, but they are killed (in the rear – Ed.), not given medical assistance. You can implement a super mobilization reform, you can have people brought to TCCs in limousines, you can give them the highest financial provision, you can do anything for them, but none of this will matter if this person dies in the very first days after joining such a unit,” he notes.
The former advisor to the Minister of Defense called such actions by individual commanders a “crime against their own country and their own defense capability.”
“You cannot treat people like this. There are many cool, worthy fighters there, and I communicate with some of them. And some of them leave there for AWOL and ask me what we should do. But what the command has arranged there, unfortunately, at least due to the silence of the top military command – it’s a horror, you can’t do this. And no one will achieve normal mobilization if such practices continue in the army. What is happening there is destroying the army from within, because it is a matter of worldview, a matter of principles,” he notes.
Sternenko concluded that similar practices undermine the morale of society and call into question the very principles for which the Ukrainian nation is fighting.
He urged the military leadership to immediately react to these facts, as covering up the command’s crimes destroys the country’s defense capability.
Fedorov’s Dismissal and the New Government: Latest News
We remind you that yesterday, July 15, Minister of Defense Mykhailo Fedorov confirmed that he is leaving the Ministry of Defense.
Members of parliament reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wanted to propose the current head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Klymenko, for the post of Minister of Defense instead of Fedorov.
Today, the Verkhovna Rada, by a majority vote, approved the new composition of the Cabinet of Ministers. The appointments of the heads of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense were postponed.
Following the news of Mykhailo Fedorov’s resignation, information appeared in the media that Zelenskyy could not tolerate the “war” between the head of the Ministry of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky. Today, the president himself confirmed that there was a conflict between Syrsky and Fedorov.
Meanwhile, Fedorov’s resignation provoked protests across Ukraine, which thousands of people attended.
Fedorov himself broke his long silence today with a series of strong statements: he demanded a change in the leadership of the Armed Forces and criticized Syrsky.
The Kremlin, in turn, commented on Fedorov’s dismissal and spoke about the end of the war.
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