President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new appointments related to the country's defense. In his video address, the head of state noted that the appointments would take place today.
"I instructed the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Umerov, to appoint Colonel Kachur as the head of the academy. We need the highest quality training for our soldiers and officers, based on the experience of this war and the heroism of Ukrainian guys at the front," Zelensky said.
He reminded that a survey was conducted in the "Army+" app regarding the new leader of the National Academy of Land Forces named after Sahaidachny.
"It is important that this decision is made together with our military. The Commander-in-Chief and the Commander of the Land Forces proposed five candidates - Brigadier Generals Sergey Baranov and Mikhail Sidenko, and Colonels Yevgeny Lasiichuk, Alexander Bakulin, and Roman Kachur. Colonel Roman Kachur received the most votes," the president noted.
Zelensky pointed out that Kachur is well aware of the front, having commanded the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade. According to Zelensky, he has already spoken with Colonel Kachur, who has a vision of what changes need to be made in military education, particularly at the National Academy of Land Forces.
"I instructed him to present to the public what will change in the academy, to conduct a full audit of the academy: both in terms of funding and how cadets are educated, as well as who works at the academy," the president emphasized.
What is known about Roman Kachur
Roman Kachur is a colonel and a participant in the Russo-Ukrainian war. He was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine on May 12, 2022. He also holds the title of Knight of the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky of three degrees.
From 2014 to 2018, he served as the Chief of Artillery of the 81st Separate Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From March 2018 to July 2022, he was the commander of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade "Zaporizka Sich."
Establishment of a new NATO center to assist Ukraine in Wiesbaden
The second appointment, according to Zelensky, concerns Brigadier General Gennady Shapovalov, who commanded the OUV "Tavria":
"He will work with our partners in Wiesbaden, his task is to coordinate security assistance to Ukraine."
It is known that in the summer of 2024, NATO made a decision to create a new center for coordinating assistance to Ukraine and conducting training for Ukrainian military personnel. It will be located in Wiesbaden, Germany.
An analogous structure has been operating in Wiesbaden for a long time - the American Security Assistance Group in Ukraine (SAG-U), which consists of about 300 military personnel. The new structure is expected to be twice as large. It is anticipated that around 700 servicemen from NATO member states and partners will be involved.
In mid-October, two weeks after taking office, the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte arrived in Germany to visit the center. At that time, it was reported that the command center was still being formed, and its personnel are located both in Wiesbaden and in logistics centers in the eastern part of the alliance.