Latest news with #12thAzovSpecialForcesBrigade
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
To their wedding song: Ukrainian veteran dances with wife for first time since losing both legs
A Ukrainian soldier who lost both legs on the front line has danced for the first time since his injury. Together with his wife, he danced to the same song that played at their wedding. Source: The Nezlamni (Unbroken) National Rehabilitation Centre Details: Oleksandr Zhavnenko, a 36-year-old from Lviv, has been dancing since childhood. It was on the dance floor that he met his future wife, Marichka. They performed together in the folk ensemble Mriia (Dream). From the first day of the full-scale Russian invasion, Oleksandr supported Ukraine's defence forces as a volunteer. After his wife Marichka gave birth to their first child, he joined the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard as a drone operator. Oleksandr lost both lower limbs in October 2024. "As soon as I was injured, Marichka came to me in Dnipro with our little Lina in her arms. It was a huge surprise. She supported me and said: 'We'll definitely get back on our feet and dance together'," he recalls. The couple performed their first dance since his injury at the Lviv House of Scientists, to the same song that played at their wedding. "I didn't know what to expect from this dance. But I loved it so much! Nothing hurt, nothing felt tight – unlike everyday life, where even moving in the kitchen is hard. Here, I did what I love, and she was by my side," Oleksandr shares. Background: Previously, the centre shared the story of veterans Anastasiia and Oleksii, who met during rehabilitation. Both were seriously injured at the front and lost limbs. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine's Azov Special Forces Brigade now led by lieutenant colonel, 31
Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan "Puhach" Hryshenkov has been appointed the new commander of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU). Source: Azov Brigade on Instagram Quote: "Friend Puhach is a professional soldier with nearly a decade of service in Azov. He has risen through the ranks – from an ordinary soldier to company commander, chief of staff and battalion commander. The new brigade commander takes over the brigade at the moment of its greatest development. He'll do his best to ensure the unit's effective work in cooperation with other brigades of the 1st Azov Corps of the NGU." For reference: Hryshenkov, 31, was born in the town of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast and joined Azov in 2015. During the defence of Mariupol in 2022, he commanded one of Azov's companies and was wounded. After leaving the Azovstal Steelworks, he was captured and held by the Russians in the Olenivka penal colony in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk Oblast. When the Russians blew up a barracks in Olenivka, Puhach sustained shrapnel wounds and lost two toes on his foot. Following his release from captivity and subsequent rehabilitation, Hryshenkov returned to the front, taking part in battles in the Serebrianka Forest and on the Toretsk front. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Guardian: Ukraine's commander-in-chief should resign, says former Azov chief of staff
Bohdan Krotevych, former Chief of Staff of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade, has urged Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, to resign, as he lacks a strategic vision and endangers the lives of Ukrainian soldiers by issuing "borderline criminal" orders. Source: Krotevych in an interview with The Guardian Details: In the interview, Krotevych expressed frustration that Syrskyi and the current leadership were involved in the "manual micro-management of the whole army". He also highlighted orders given to soldiers and units, which he argued forced them to rest and be stationed too close to the front lines. Krotevych stated that during his service, he also received orders from higher command, the commander-in-chief's headquarters, which became increasingly criminal. He added, "I, in my good conscience, was unable to fulfil and follow" these orders. Quote from the Guardian: "He [Krotevych] accused the army command of being 'criminally guilty of not understanding the principles of war right now' and in particular 'how FPV drones work, how glide bombs work." Details: Krotevych noted that the substantial increase in the deployment of first-person view (FPV) drones, capable of operating up to 22 km, along with Russian glide bombs, which until recently Ukraine had struggled to stop, has significantly expanded the depth of the contact line. Despite this, he argued that Ukraine's commanders have not responded effectively to the evolving situation. He remarked, "They still have the mentality of fighting in the second world war". "They still refuse to acknowledge the new means of hitting targets". He also pointed out that Syrskyi was using regulations from 2016 to justify stationing soldiers so close to the front, a period when "war was completely different". Krotevych also believes that Syrskyi should go because he has failed to break through the Russian line, except on the Kursk front in August 2024, where he found the "weakest spot" and delivered a simple "linear strike". "Syrskyi is not trying to apply a high science and an art of war," Krotevych said, accusing him of having "just two functions: if the enemy is attacking, you just throw more people in there. And if the enemy is overwhelming, withdraw the people and say that you're concerned about the lives of the people". In the interview, Krotevych revealed his plans to establish a private company, the Strategic Operational and Intelligence Agency (Soia), which will gather intelligence on Russia, Belarus, North Korea and other countries hostile to Ukraine. The agency will also serve as an expert liaison with the West. He also emphasised that he is not associated with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces and now Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, and made it clear that he has no intention of entering politics himself. "I just want to destabilise Russia so it could not make war again," he said. Background: Krotevych retired from military service and stepped down as chief of staff of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade in February 2025. In June 2024, Krotevych submitted a formal complaint to the State Bureau of Investigation, requesting an investigation into Lieutenant General Yurii Sodol, Commander of Ukraine's Joint Forces. He accused Sodol of abuse of power and incompetent troop command, which contributed to the loss of a significant portion of Ukraine's territory. As a result, Sodol was dismissed from his position and the State Bureau of Investigation was required to open a criminal case in September 2024. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russians occupy Dachne and Zelenivka, advance near several villages in Donetsk Oblast
Russian troops have captured Dachne and Zelenivka in Donetsk Oblast and have made advances in several other areas. Source: DeepState project Quote: "The defence forces drove back the enemy near Malynivka. The enemy occupied Dachne and Zelenivka and advanced near Kostiantynopol, Novosilka, Klishchiivka, Baranivka, Novoocheretuvate, Andriivka and Pishchane." Details: DeepState project analysts report that the Russian army has taken Dachne, which was partially surrounded the day before, as well as Zelenivka, which is only a few kilometres away. DeepState also stated that the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade forced the Russians away from the Pokrovsk-Kostiantynivka road, although there is no official confirmation as of now. Background: Analysts from the DeepState project reported on the night of 10-11 January that Russian forces had occupied Kurakhove in Donetsk Oblast, which is seven kilometres from Dachne. On 18 February, DeepState maps illustrated that the Russian army, on its way to Kostiantynopol, had approached the village of Dachne in Donetsk Oblast and was likely to encircle it. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
