Ukraine Dismisses Brigade Commander After Reports of Malnourished Soldiers on Frontline
Introduction
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has dismissed the commander of a mechanised brigade after photos showed severely malnourished soldiers who had been on the frontline near Kupiansk for a long time without enough food and water.
Main Body
The dismissal occurred after Anastasiia Silchuk, the spouse of a soldier, posted photos on social media showing three servicemen with visible weight loss and protruding ribs. The General Staff announced the removal of the brigade's commander, claiming he failed to report the actual conditions and lost several positions. The commander was also accused of making mistakes in supply provision. According to relatives, the soldiers had been defending a shrinking area on the left bank of the Oskil River since August 25. Supplies of food and medicine were delivered only by drone because of the closeness to enemy lines. Silchuk reported that the soldiers' weight had dropped from about 80–90 kg to around 50 kg. On one occasion, no food arrived for 17 days, forcing the troops to drink rainwater and melted snow. Another relative, Ivanna Poberezhnyuk, stated that soldiers were losing consciousness from hunger. The brigade acknowledged logistical difficulties, noting that Russian forces focused on targeting supply deliveries, intercepting drones and boats. Since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, the use of drones for surveillance and logistics has expanded. Ukraine has increasingly used unmanned ground robots to transport supplies and evacuate wounded soldiers in exposed areas. In the Kupiansk sector, Russian forces destroyed bridges across the Oskil River to isolate Ukrainian units. After the public disclosure, Silchuk reported that conditions had improved under a new commander, who contacted the soldiers and said the situation was being addressed. The General Staff confirmed that a fresh food shipment had been delivered and an investigation had been launched. The new brigade commander, Colonel Taras Maximov, held an online call with the troops, promising to arrange rotation as soon as weather permitted. One soldier requested extraction, stating that rotation and medical treatment were needed.
Conclusion
The incident has led to an official investigation and a change in command. Efforts are now being made to improve supply logistics and evacuate the affected soldiers. However, the wider challenge of keeping troops supplied in contested areas, where Russian forces actively block logistics, remains an ongoing problem.