Formation of army corps, ordered by Zelenskyy, is being delayed due to Minister Umierov’s sluggishness
Regarding the reorganization of Ukrainian frontline troops into army corps, approved by the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and announced by V. Zelenskyy.
Two weeks ago, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, issued a directive on the establishment of new corps in the army, their areas of responsibility and the timeline for their deployment to the front. This is a historic decision—the first real structural reform in Ukraine’s defense forces aimed at reorganizing the ground troops. And the army wants to implement it quickly.
However, the implementation of this decision is being delayed by the Ministry of Defense. The issue is that in Ukraine, the appointment of corps commanders by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces must be approved by the Minister of Defense. This is absurd from the point of view of the division of powers and responsibilities, but such a procedure could work if everything was signed promptly. Yet, for some reason, the Minister of Defense has no time to approve the candidates for corps commanders, and in Kyiv, they just can't seem to get around to the front.
As a result, the corps are being formed, but... without the appointment of commanders who are supposed to establish headquarters and recruit personnel!
In order to implement the Commander-in-Chief's decision within the established timeframe, the army decided to create temporary positions - "corps organizers" - and appointed to these positions military personnel who are not corps commanders but have positions in operational commands and can perform administrative functions.
For example, Andrii Biletskyi, the commander of the 3rd Army Corps, who was scheduled to become the commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade and was the first person to be offered the position of corps commander by Syrskyi, has not yet been appointed.
Can corps be formed quickly and in an organised manner? Yes, and this was demonstrated by... the Minister of Internal Affairs I. Klymenko and the Commander of the National Guard O. Pivnenko.
The decision to form two army corps of the National Guard on the basis of the 12th Azov Brigade and the 13th Charter Brigade was made by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) in December, and the commanders of these brigades, D. Prokopenko and I. Obolenskyi, were immediately appointed as corps commanders. They did not appoint "organizers", did not create problems for their subordinates, and immediately the entire administrative apparatus of the NGU began to work to implement this decision. And Minister Klymenko had time to make decisions and monitor their implementation. And the National Guard Commander Pivnenko, who was a brigade commander in this war, has nominated candidates and is speeding up the formation of his corps. It turns out that all this can be done within a certain timeframe.
If the Ministry of Defence had paid attention to the experience of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Guard and helped the General Staff to form the corps in accordance with the decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Yurii Butusov, Censor. NET
