COMCORPS: Oleksandr Bakulin

The ComCorps article series focuses on the commanders of recently formed army corps formations. Each article profiles the commander of a selected corps. Today, we will introduce you the commander of 19th Army Corps, Brigadier General Oleksandr Bakulin. You can read our previous ComCorps article about Brigadier General Valeriy Kurach here.

About the Commander

Born in 1981 in Luhansk Oblast, Oleksandr Bakulin graduated from the Odesa Institute of the Ground Forces.

He was appointed commander of the 41st Motorized Battalion “Chernihiv-2” in January 2015, and took part in combat operations during the War in Donbas.

Three years later, Bakulin assumed command of the Separate Presidential Brigade, which was then a regiment. On February 11, 2022 — just days before Russia’s full-scale invasion — he was named commander of the 57th Motorized Brigade. Under his leadership, the brigade took part in the initial defense of Bakhmut, where Bakulin also served as chief of the city’s defense. The unit was later rotated out and replaced by the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, which continued the defense until the city’s fall.

In an interview with the BBC in 2023, he stated, “If we put in a bit of effort, Bakhmut could be encircled,” and, contrary to conventional military wisdom, claimed that his unit suffered fewer casualties during the offensive than while being static and defending.

During Russia’s offensive in Kharkiv Oblast in May 2024, the 57th Motorized Brigade was redeployed to defend Vovchansk and nearby areas.

In January 2025, Bakulin was among five candidates considered for the position of head of the Hetman Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy but did not secure enough votes. Later that year, he was appointed commander of the newly formed 19th Army Corps, becoming one of the few Ukrainian officers to have led a brigade continuously from the first day of the full-scale invasion through to promotion to higher command.