Lt. Gen. Sergei Popko appointed commander of Ukraine
2016-03-29
Posted by: badanov
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A former command of the Ukrainian ministry of defense Anti Terrorist Operation (ATO) in southeastern Ukraine has been appointed commander of the land forces, according to Russian language news accounts.
Lt. General Sergei Popko was appointed to the post more than 12 weeks after his predecessor, Lt. General Anatoliy Pushnyakov was pushed out of his post in late December, 2015. Pushnyakov was appointed commander of Land forces of VSU on May 6, 2014 by acting President of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov. The appointment was made around the time the civil war in Ukraine was getting hot.
General Popko, while commander of the ATO, was known for his efforts during the Debaltsevo operation 13 months ago in which between 2,000 and 3,500 Ukrainian soldiers died. Popko at the time refused to order units posted to the area to withdraw even as it became clear the Russian backed rebels intended to surround and liquidate the units trapped in the pocket.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraine by clicking here.
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