Commander of the "East" grouping Nikolyuk leaves his post

Major General Viktor Nikolyuk has completed his work as head of the "East" grouping of troops, which was responsible for the Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynivka, Ocheretyne, and Pokrovsk sectors of the front.

Nikolyuk announced this on September 17 on Facebook, summarizing his period of command. According to him, when he took charge of these sectors in April, Russian troops were already conducting active offensive actions and trying to penetrate the gaps between Ukrainian positions.

One of the main tasks was to strengthen engineering barriers and hold the lines occupied by the Defense Forces. Nikolyuk stated that thanks to joint work with corps and brigade commanders, Ukrainian troops managed to contain the Russian offensive in the Oleksandrivka direction.

According to him, the Defense Forces also prevented Russian troops from capturing Kostiantynivka. In the Sloviansk and Kramatorsk directions, a layered defense was created, units on the front line were reinforced, and conditions were formed for the further destruction of Russian groups that had penetrated the Ukrainian defense.

"I can say with confidence that I have handed over to my successor a fully combat-ready grouping capable of steadily conducting active defensive operations", Nikolyuk said.

The general did not say what position he will take next. He noted that ahead of him are "a new path, new challenges and tasks," which will be determined by the top military leadership.

At the same time, the "East" grouping of troops and the Operational Command "East" are different structures. ArmyInform points out that Nikolyuk's statement concerns exactly the completion of work as head of the troop grouping, which was a temporary command body in certain sectors of the front. The OC "East" continues to exist, and on the Ground Forces website, Nikolyuk is still listed as its commander at the time of publication.

The changes come amid the reorganization of troop command in Donetsk region. Instead of the "East" grouping, two new troop groupings are being formed — "Center" and "Azov". Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that they should be led by Andriy Biletskyi and Denys Prokopenko respectively.

Nikolyuk previously commanded the 92nd Separate Mechanized Brigade, the "Desna" training center, and the OC "North". At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, he led the defense of Chernihiv region, and in March 2022 he received the title of Hero of Ukraine. Later, the general headed the Training Command of the Ground Forces, worked in the Donetsk direction, and commanded the 20th Army Corps.

Based on materials from: Viktor Nikolyuk, ArmyInform