The commander of the 47th Brigade’s battalion "Magura" Oleksandr Shyrshyn explained that he made a public statement after a series of internal official and unofficial appeals that went unanswered.
Shyrshyn reported this on Facebook.
The "Magura" battalion commander stated: "While performing tasks in the Kursk region and on the Ukrainian-Russian border, we faced tasks that were obviously doomed to fail and exposed the military to high risks of unjustified losses. This happened more than once, despite previous tragic incidents. The battalion and companies took all possible measures to avoid such losses.
Before making a public statement, I have approached the feasibility of completing tasks with suggestions for different levels of our command, both officially and unofficially, many times. Almost all of these appeals were ignored."
According to Shyrshyn, this prompted him to make a public statement, as he sought to "change management approaches and soberly assess our capabilities."
He added that he never demanded the dismissal of the supreme commander-in-chief or any of the command, as the problems in the army are "systemic and do not depend on one person", and he never spoke about stopping hostilities.
"But in response, for some reason, I received accusations and slanders against me, as well as calls to ’support the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’ and ’not air dirty laundry’ from people and units loyal to the ’military elite’," – wrote the "Magura" battalion commander.
He added that his battalion "always was in difficult areas" and "never complained," and their work results "were repeatedly covered in the media, by the president in his addresses."
"My brave infantry defended our Ukrainian land, driving out the enemy, holding the defense while surrounded to the end... Sappers, mining the road near the enemy, did a lot in Donbas. Grenadiers, anti-tank guided missile operators, machine gunners, medical point, reconnaissance, logistics – everyone contributed both in their sectors and in the infantry role... No matter how difficult it was, my fighters took risks and followed orders," – Shyrshyn shared.
At the same time, he added that in recent months he has the impression that they "are simply being tried to erase."
"It is precisely this and the impossibility of conveying the need to preserve the combat effectiveness of my unit and the lives of my people to the command that prompted me to raise the issue publicly," – explained the "Magura" battalion commander.
He noted that despite his statement, none of his fighters "left, did not leave positions, and all continue performing new tasks ’as long as I’m still in command.’"
"To date, there are attempts to establish communication from the General Staff, I hope for a constructive dialogue, the development of specific working solutions, rather than just excuses, to avoid a similar situation in the future," – Shyrshyn summarized.