Zelenskyy: Commander of 128th Brigade suspended, situation being investigated minute by minute
The commander of the 128th separate mountain assault Transcarpathian brigade, some of whose soldiers were killed as a result of a Russian Iskander-M missile strike on Zaporizhzhia region, has been removed from his post.
This was announced in an evening video address on November 6, 2023, by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
– I held a meeting of the Staff. The first issue was the tragedy with the soldiers of our 128th separate mountain assault brigade. The military, the Minister of Defense, and the Head of the Security Service of Ukraine reported. The specifics are what we have already found out about the circumstances of the tragedy, whose orders created the conditions for the tragedy to happen. In particular, Chief Inspector of the Defense Ministry Voronchenko reported. The brigade commander has been suspended for the duration of the investigation. The whole situation is being analyzed minute by minute.
According to the president, it will be established who specifically violated the rules on the safety of people in the area of access of enemy aerial reconnaissance. There will be no avoidance of responsibility, Zelenskyy said.
– “I expect all relevant structures and authorities to provide concrete answers to the tasks that our state is objectively facing now. This also includes ensuring that tragedies like the one with the soldiers of the 128th Brigade never happen again. And the changes expected by soldiers and commanders, especially those who were mobilized. Finally, the waves with any things that divide politically must stop,” the Head of State emphasized.
On November 3, the Russian army fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile at the personnel of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade in the Zaporizhzhia sector. The Ukrainian Armed Forces confirmed the death of 19 soldiers.
