Edelweiss Brigade Appoints New Commander

The 10th Mountain Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, commonly known as the Edelweiss Brigade, has been appointed a new commander.

This comes after the loss of the city of Siversk, north of Bakhmut, leading to the dismissal of two brigade commanders: Colonel Volodymyr Potyeshkin, the commander of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade, and Colonel Olkesiy Konoval, the commander of the 54th Mechanized Brigade, both of whom MilitaryLand reported on back in late December 2025.

Following weeks of uncertainty, a successor to Potyeshkin has been identified. According to Ukrainska Pravda, Colonel Oleksii Chuzykov has been appointed as the new commander, having previously served as Chief of Staff of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade.

According to the website of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi Academy, Chuzhykov was born in December 1992 in Zaporizhzhia, and in 2014, he graduated from the academy with a degree in the Management of the Actions of Units of Mechanized Troops.

He previously served as commander of the Kholodnyi Yar Brigade’s 3rd Mechanized Battalion, which fought in the Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar sectors during the unit’s deployment. Many soldiers spoke highly of Chuzykov at the time.

The 10th Mountain Assault Brigade is currently a part of the 15th Army Corps. The corps currently contains a series of well-experienced and newly formed and reformed units, including the 44th Artillery, 129th Heavy Mechanized, and the 158th Mechanized Brigade.