Syrsky: The transition to the corps system is proceeding without delay. The 1st lines have already reached their front lines

The transition to the corps system is proceeding without delay, and the first lines of command of such corps have already accepted the units assigned to them and have entered their sectors of the front.

The Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky told journalists about this on June 21, reports a Babel correspondent.

"The first line of army corps departments with support units have already completed combat coordination and accepted their areas of responsibility and determined sets of troops. In the future, the next lines will follow, and all corps will take their areas. Thus, we will have completed the transition to the corps system and the corresponding restructuring of our defense," he noted.

According to Syrsky, the corps commanders had already chosen their own management and could choose deputies at their own discretion.

"Thus, we have significantly rejuvenated the operational leadership of the fighting army. The vast majority of corps commanders are former brigade commanders who distinguished themselves on the battlefield. Their deputies, chiefs of staff, are the same," Syrsky noted.

According to him, the transition to a corps system will reduce the burden on military command bodies, more effectively use available forces and resources, optimize the distribution of our artillery, and increase the number of unmanned systems units.

He added that if there are corps, the level of Operational-Strategic Groups (OSG) remains, and the level of Operational-Tactical Groups (OTG) is gradually being eliminated.

What is an army corps?

An army corps usually consists of several combat divisions and/or brigades and support formations. After gaining independence, Ukraine gradually reformed six armies and one army corps into seven army corps. This happened in the mid-1990s, writes Militarnyi.

In the Ground Forces of Ukraine, corps were then operational-tactical formations, their combat structure included divisions and brigades. After a series of reforms, corps were transformed into higher tactical formations.

Later, the army corps were completely disbanded, and some of them were used to create Operational Commands. The last army corps ceased to exist in 2015, but the Reserve Corps was left.

After the start of a full-scale war with Russia in Ukraine, the 9th and 10th Army Corps were formed. At the same time, the Reserve Corps was reformatted into the 11th Army Corps. The formation of the fourth army corps is currently underway.

The Ground Forces also included the Airborne Assault Corps and the Marine Corps. The Special Operations Forces also included the Ranger Corps, which specializes in reconnaissance, assaults, and raids behind enemy lines.

• President Volodymyr Zelensky reported plans to transfer the Armed Forces of Ukraine to a corps system back in November. The president stressed that he supports such a decision if it reduces bureaucracy in the army.

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