Battalion commander of 46th brigade demoted after interview to Washington Post, hands in resignation

Anatolii “Kupol” Kozel, was demoted from the post of combat battalion commander of the 46th Airmobile Brigade to deputy commander of the training centre battalion after a controversial interview with The Washington Post.

Source: sources of Ukrainska Pravda in the 46th brigade

Details: As sources of UP noted, the decision to demote Kupol was made by the commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Maksym Myrhorodskyi.

In response to such a move, Kupol wrote a resignation letter.

Ukrainska Pravda also asked for a comment from the press service of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, this is not the first case of a transfer to the 46th brigade after communication with the press.

After an interview with Ukrainska Pravda about the situation in Soledar, which the Ukrainian army left in January 2023, Ukrainian Armed Forces Sergeant Oleksandr Pohrebyskyi was transferred from the combat unit to the post of a company chief instructor in the training centre of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

“Military leaders don’t like the truth and don’t want to solve systemic problems,” said the source to Ukrainska Pravda.

Commander Kupol was one of the interviewees of The Washington Post, and the conversation resulted in the outlet writing that the Defence Forces of Ukraine lost many of the most experienced fighters on the battlefield, and the inexperience of recruits, coupled with the lack of weapons, allegedly reduces optimism and calls into question Kyiv’s readiness for the spring offensive.

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