After the scandal with the "meat brigades": Lieutenant Colonel Kovalyuk was sent to the front instead of his son

After the scandal with the "meat brigades": Lieutenant Colonel Kovalyuk was sent to the front instead of his son

The head of the Second Department of the Dubno District Territorial Recruitment Center (TRC) and Social Policy (SP) in the city of Radivyliv, 56-year-old Lieutenant Colonel Yuriy Kovalyuk, was transferred to another position following his scandalous remarks in an interview. The official told journalists that he discourages young people from joining "meat brigades" and would not allow his 22-year-old son to join the army. Three days after the publication of this interview, Yuriy Kovalyuk was appointed as the deputy commander of military unit A 4728 and sent to the front line.

This was reported on May 4 by the investigative journalism site "4 Vlada". Read more.

In the interview published by "4 Vlada" on April 7, Yuriy Kovalyuk, the head of the Radivyliv TRC and SP, told journalists that working in the TRC is not for him and if not for his health condition, he would transfer to the position of deputy battalion commander without hesitation. He noted that currently in the army, the mobilization resource is important, and if "you don’t bring in people - you are removed from the position. If you do, you receive Bohdan Khmelnytsky’s badge."

According to Yuriy Kovalyuk, his daughter works in the Rivne TRC, and his 22-year-old son graduated this year from the Lviv University of Trade and Economics, and he won’t let him join the army. He also mentioned that he discourages young people from enlisting under the 18-24 contract (editor’s note - this refers to a one-year service contract for people aged 18 to 24, during which they receive 1 million UAH and salary. After the contract ends, permission for traveling abroad is granted), because they would serve in the "meat brigades" where the survivability of the personnel is very low.

"This is the system, you understand. It needs to be changed. The year 2025 showed: all the patriots left, and they were practically destroyed by stupid actions. Now there are no more patriots," added Yuriy Kovalyuk.

The day after this interview was published, it was addressed by the Rivne Oblast TRC and SP.

"Yuriy Kovalyuk on his own initiative disclosed evaluative judgments regarding mobilization measures, the moral fatigue of the personnel, and alleged negligent treatment of human resources in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Such statements made in the fourth year of the full-scale war do not contribute to strengthening the state’s defense capabilities. It is likely that personal circumstances or fatigue from service could have influenced Yuriy Kovalyuk’s reflections," stated in the announcement.

And three days later, by order of the commander of the operational command "West," Yuriy Kovalyuk was dismissed from the position of military commissioner and appointed deputy commander of military unit A 4728, which is part of the 56th separate motorized infantry Mariupil Brigade, after which he was sent to the front. On April 19, the lieutenant colonel wrote on his Facebook page: "If anyone wants to badmouth me, I report - I was demoted, I’m near Kramatorsk."

It should be noted that Yuriy Kovalyuk’s combat path began in 2014 during the first wave of mobilization. As part of the 8th Army Corps, he participated in the battles for Ilovaisk and Saur-Mohyla. He then commanded a reconnaissance company, which over a year and a half participated in battles for Stanytsia Luhanska, Trokhizbenka, and the Svitlodarsk Bulge during the ATO. Later, for more than half a year, he was the commander of a fire support company, carrying out combat tasks in the Avdiivka direction, and the commander of a command-reconnaissance point.

In 2017, Yuriy Kovalyuk was convicted on three counts of the Criminal Code. Together with his subordinates, the military officer was accused of an attempted rape, and when police officers arrived at the scene, Yuriy Kovalyuk deprived them of liberty and threatened them with violence. The court sentenced the accused to 4 years in prison but took into account the admission of guilt and voluntary compensation for the damage caused, and released him from punishment.

Following the full-scale invasion, from February 25, 2022, he led the territorial defense battalions, passing with the units through hotspots - Bakhmut, Kupiansk, and Sumy region. The personnel under Yuriy Kovalyuk’s command participated in the Kursk operation. He received a decoration from the President of Ukraine "For the Defense of Ukraine" and the church order of Saint George the Victorious, personally awarded by His Beatitude Metropolitan Epiphanius.