Pavliuk instead of Syrsky and Sodol instead of Nayev: what is known about the new commanders of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Personnel changes continue in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleksandr Syrskyi was replaced by former First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk. And instead of Serhiy Nayev, Yuriy Sodol, who was previously the commander of the Ukrainian Navy's marines, will take over as commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces.

OBOZ.UA found out what is known about the new commanders.

Oleksandr Pavliuk

Oleksandr Pavliuk was born on August 20, 1970 in Zvyagel. He graduated from the Kharkiv Guards Higher Tank Command School (1991) and the National Defense Academy of Ukraine (2004).

Pavliuk is a career officer. He began his military career in 1991 as a tank platoon commander. In 1993 he became a tank company commander, and from 1999 to 2003 he commanded a tank battalion.

From March 2005 to July 2006, he was the deputy commander of a brigade in Zvyagel, Zhytomyr region.

From July 2006 to March 2007, Oleksandr Pavliuk was the commander of Ukrainian peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.

In 2007-2010, he was the deputy commander of the brigade, and later the chief of staff of the brigade in Zvyagel, Zhytomyr region;

In 2010-2015, Pavliuk commanded the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo, based in Yavoriv, Lviv region.

He participated in the war against the Russian occupiers since 2014.

Under his command, the 24th Brigade took part in the battles for the liberation of Sloviansk, Krasnyi Lyman, Kramatorsk, Lysychansk and other cities in Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In June 2014, separate units of the 24th Brigade, together with the 95th, 79th and 72nd Brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, took part in the capture and holding of a 240-kilometer section of the Ukrainian border (Amvrosiyivka-Izvaryne).

On July 11, 2014, the brigade suffered heavy losses as a result of a missile attack by Russian troops near Zelenopillya. On August 6-7, units of the brigade that held the entrusted lines near Dolzhanske and other areas of the southern operational zone took part in the so-called Izvaryne breakthrough, which was the withdrawal of Ukrainian units from a partial semi-circumvention along the Ukrainian-Russian border. Thanks to the skillful and decisive actions of the personnel, the withdrawal took place on time, with minimal losses. After recuperation and re-enforcement, the brigade under the command of Oleksandr Pavliuk returned to performing its assigned tasks in eastern Ukraine.

On August 23, 2015, Oleksandr Pavliuk was promoted to the rank of Major General.

From 2017 to 2020, he was the commander of the troops of the Operational Command "West".

On August 23, 2018, by Presidential Decree No. 242/2018, Pavliuk was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.

Since the summer of 2020, he has been the Commander of the Training Command of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

On July 28, 2021, he was appointed Commander of the Joint Forces Operation.

On the eve of a full-scale invasion in January 2022, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk in an interview with the British newspaper The Times called Ukraine's abandonment of nuclear weapons in 1994 a huge mistake. As an experienced combat commander, he accurately predicted the approximate date of a full-scale attack by Russian troops on sovereign Ukraine and managed to prepare his subordinate units for effective resistance.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war on February 24, 2022, Pavliuk has been in charge of defense in eastern Ukraine. From March 15 to May 21, 2022, he headed the Kyiv Regional Military Administration. Pavliuk ensured the organization of defense and repulsion of Russian aggression in Kyiv and Kyiv region. He was in charge of stabilization measures in the liberated territories of the Kyiv region.

From May 2022 to February 21, 2023, he was the Chief of Staff - Deputy Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, Pavliuk served as the commander of the Kyiv Defense Forces Group.

From February 21, 2023, Oleksandr Pavliuk served as First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

For his contribution to strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, personal courage and heroism, and significant contribution to the protection of Ukraine's state sovereignty and territorial integrity, Pavliuk received the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star (March 4, 2022); the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, III and II degrees; the Medal for Military Service to Ukraine, and other awards.

Yuriy Sodol

Yuriy Sodol was born on December 26, 1970, in Chuhuiv, Kharkiv region. He graduated from high school in Mariupol in 1988, Sumy Higher Artillery Command School in 1992 and the Chernyakhovsky National Defense Academy of Ukraine in Kyiv in 2022 (qualified as an officer of the military department of operational and tactical, and in 2015 - operational and strategic levels).

Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodoldo was the Commander of the Marine Corps of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine.

He has served in the airborne troops since 2003. During this time, he made 96 parachute jumps.

In 2007, he was appointed commander of the 25th Airborne Brigade.

Yuriy Sodol has been at war since 2014. With his brigade, he visited the hottest spots of the frontline. Among other things, he took part in the battles for Rubizhne, the storming of Yampil, the defense of Donetsk airport, and led the cover for the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Debaltseve.

In January 2015, Sodol was appointed First Deputy Commander of the Airborne Assault Forces. And since March 2018, he has served as the Commander of the Marines of the Ukrainian Navy.

Since the first days of Russia's large-scale invasion, he has been in charge of defense in one of the most difficult areas of the front.

Yuriy Sodol is a Hero of Ukraine (2022). He has the medal "For Military Service to Ukraine" (2010). Orders "For Courage", 3rd class (2014) and Bohdan Khmelnytsky, 3rd class (2015).

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on February 11, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed new commanders of various branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev was replaced by Yuriy Sodol as commander of the Joint Forces, and Oleksandr Pavliuk, the former head of Kyiv Regional Military Administration and Reznikov's former deputy, became the head of the Land Forces.

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