"Generals in the trenches": The Ukrainian Armed Forces responded regarding the number of officers dismissed through the Military Medical Commission (video).
During nearly three years of full-scale war, a number of top officers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) were dismissed from their positions. The dismissals were carried out through military medical commissions (MMC), with former Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny becoming an ambassador to the United Kingdom, while General Dmytro Marchenko, the defender of Mykolaiv, recorded a video discussing his poor health condition. The "Radio Liberty" agency reported on the command's response to a request regarding the number of generals dismissed following the relevant medical commission findings. Details of the UAF command's response and an assessment of the associated issues were published on the agency's YouTube channel.
The agency stated that it had sent a request to the UAF regarding the number of dismissed generals. The response indicated that 41 individuals — senior military personnel — had left the army through military medical commissions (MMC). This number reflects the top officers (major generals, lieutenant generals, colonel generals, etc.) who were discharged due to health issues between February 22, 2022, and August 1, 2024. Notably, only one officer returned to service, according to the command's response.
Journalists tracked down the names of some of the top officers in open sources. Among them are former UAF Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny, Deputy Commander-in-Chief and Chief of Staff Serhiy Shaptala, former Commander of the Medical Forces Tatyana Ostashchenko, former Commander of the Joint Forces of the UAF Yuriy Sodol, and General Dmytro Marchenko. In all cases, it was noted that the dismissals occurred due to health reasons.
Generals in the Trenches — Commentary from a Reserve Officer and MP
On the "Radio Liberty" YouTube channel, comments regarding the top generals in reserve were provided by Major General of the UAF Serhiy Kryvonos and Member of Parliament, committee member on national security Irina Friz. According to Kryvonos, the number of dismissed officers is "a lot." He stated that they were "removed from their positions without any explanation as to why, what contributions or misdeeds led to their dismissal." He also noted that there is a shortage of senior command personnel in the army; however, his request to return was not considered because "there are no positions available for generals." On the other hand, military personnel, even without the health to participate in combat, could still contribute by training new fighters and officers. Irina Friz echoed the position of the reserve major general and recalled that due to a lack of commanders, the Verkhovna Rada invited foreigners.
"Therefore, any loss for us of representatives who are the elite, who are career officers, any inability to utilize their knowledge and experience, even in a different format at another level: whether it be some other staff work, analytical roles that would allow processing the challenges we currently face on the front lines," — said the MP.
Zelensky's Position on Generals
We remind you that on November 22, media reported on the reform of the Defense Forces: a “corps-brigade” system is being created.