Colonel Makukha on his dismissal from the 123rd Brigade
- Julia LukyanenkoReporter
Oleh Makukha, former commander of the 123rd Brigade. Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces Territorial Defence ForcesOleh Makukha, former commander of the 123rd Unmanned Systems Brigade «Code Orion» (formerly a Territorial Defence Brigade, — note), believes he was humiliated when the decision was made to promote him. In the military officer’s view, Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi can sort out this situation and make the right decision.
An interview with Oleh Makukha was published on Telegram by the Mykolaiv municipal TV channel «MART».
As a reminder, Major Denys Hipik has taken command of the 123rd Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade. He previously commanded the 1st Unmanned Systems Battalion of the same brigade. The previous commander, Colonel Oleg Makukha, was transferred to the ‘South’ Regional Directorate of the Territorial Defence Forces.
In an interview, Oleh Makukha commented on his promotion to a higher post. According to him, it came as a shock and was met with confusion.
«For a combat officer who has seen action in Kupiansk, Bakhmut, Soledar and Pisky, who is educated, possesses a fighting spirit and the drive to engage in combat, and who leads his troops, a serviceman who has spent 12 years at war, a so-called «promotion» to a post where I will be dealing with maps and some sort of rear-area affairs — for me personally, this is a slap in the face; they have forgotten all about an officer’s honour. And, as they used to say in the Soviet era: if there’s no reason to dismiss an officer, you have to put him forward for promotion,» said the former brigade commander.
He described the decision to transfer an effective commander as a Soviet-style method.
«We are moving towards European standards; we are fighting with technology. Yet some methods of dealing with effective commanders — who prevent corruption from taking root in this area — remain, as we can see, Soviet in nature. That’s how it turned out — I was promoted — but, unfortunately, for me personally, this is a shock, a source of outrage, and a loss of faith in future actions,» noted Oleh Makukha.
He hopes that the new Commander-in-Chief, Mykhailo Drapatyi, will get to the bottom of this situation and make a decision.
«I believe that the most important thing is for the Commander-in-Chief to be aware of this issue. Given his combat experience and authority within the army, I am confident that he will know how to sort out this situation and make the only correct decision, which I will support and, as a soldier, will gladly carry out,» added Oleh Makukha.
As a reminder, in Mykolaiv, volunteers and relatives of servicemen from the 123rd Territorial Defence Brigade held a rally. They protested against the dismissal of the brigade commander, Oleh Makukha.
Earlier, in October 2024, the 123rd Brigade came under widespread criticism for allegedly surrendering the town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk region, which had long been defended by fighters from the 72nd Mechanised Brigade. Instead, hundreds of soldiers from the brigade took to the streets in Voznesensk. The soldiers claimed they were inadequately trained and lacked the necessary equipment to take part in combat operations on the Donetsk front; they refused to carry out their combat mission and left their military unit in the Donbas without authorisation.
In 2026, the 123rd Mykolaiv Separate Territorial Defence Brigade changed its status and is now known as the 123rd Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade «Code Orion».
Чому ви читаєте «МикВісті»? Яка наша діяльність найбільш важлива для вас? Та чи хотіли б ви стати частиною спільноти читачів? Пройдіть опитування, це анонімно і займе 5 хвилин вашого часу