The reorganization into corps is moving forward

As of the end of April, three months have passed since General Syrskyi officially announced the transition to a corps-based system.

During this time, the General Staff has determined the composition of the corps and appointed their commanders and deputies. According to information obtained by Ukrainska Pravda, the corps commanders have undergone a short training course provided by the U.S. School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS).

The General Staff has also assigned curators to each newly formed corps. These curators are drawn from among the heads of key departments within the General Staff, the deputies of General Syrskyi, and Major General Andrii Hnatov, the Chief of Staff of the General Staff.

The formation of corps within the National Guard is progressing more quickly and smoothly than in the Ground Forces, largely due to the significantly smaller number of subordinate brigades.

The Commanders

Ukrainska Pravda reports that the list of commanders assigned to lead the army corps formations was personally compiled by General Oleksandr Syrsky. The final edits were made by Pavlo Palisa, the former commander of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, who currently serves as Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

The proposals for Denis Prokopenko (1st Azov Corps) and Andriy Biletsky (3rd Army Corps) were approved without major issues, despite some personal differences, with their leadership abilities, combat experience, and erudition being acknowledged. The same was true for Ihor Obolensky (2nd Khartia Corps), although some concerns were raised regarding the fact that the corps is being formed from a relatively young unit, rather than veteran National Guard brigades.

The commanders of the 9th, 10th, and 11th Army Corps, which existed before the reorganization, will remain in their positions. However, the composition of these corps will undergo changes.

Some brigade commanders have already handed over their units to successors—for example, Andriy Biletskyi, Denys Prokopenko, and former commander of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, Roman Darmohrai. Others, including the commander of the 58th Motorized Brigade, Ruslan Shevchuk, and the commander of the 25th Airborne Brigade, Yevhen Lasiichuk, are still with their brigades.

Another most likely candidates to lead other corps may be:

• Col. Maksym Kituhin, the commander of 17th Heavy Mechanized Brigade.
• Col. Yevheniy Kurash, who served in leadership positions in the 25th Airborne and 80th Air Assault Brigades.
• Col. Volodymyr Silenko, the commander of 30th Mechanized Brigade.
• Col. Vasyl Matiyev, the commander of 5th Assault Brigade.

Colonel Ruslan Tkachuk, the commander of the 100th Mechanized Brigade, was initially set to lead the 14th Army Corps. However, for reasons that remain unclear, his candidacy was ultimately rejected.

Not all brigade commanders selected to lead corps will have their own brigade included in their respective corps, suggesting that not all corps are being formed from experienced brigades. According to Ukrainska Pravda, this applies to Ruslan Shevchuk (58th Motorized Brigade) and Roman Darmohray (10th Mountain Assault Brigade).