The Chief of Staff — Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defense Forces (TDF) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Serhii Sobko informed that he is leaving the TDF Forces on January 10. He did not specify the reason for his resignation.
"I want to say just one thing — I am proud to have been involved in the creation of a special kind of forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and I am also grateful to all the people with whom I worked for the formation, strengthening and development of the Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he wrote.
According to him, at the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the TDF grew from 10 to 100 thousand people, and most of the fighters had no military experience and needed professional training.
"In the deployment of the Territorial Defense Force, it turned out that what looked at first glance unattractive and undervalued became a point of pride. Because by investing effort and time, caring for something, you will love it. You will be proud of every achievement, every victory. You will see progress, and you will grow together," Sobko summed up.
- In 2014, Hero of Ukraine Serhii Sobko performed combat missions in the east as a battalion commander. After the formation of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in January 2022, he was appointed Chief of Staff — Deputy Commander of the Territorial Defense Forces. At the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, he was one of the leaders of the defense of Kyiv. In March 2022, Sobko was given the rank of brigadier general.
- The first head of the Terrodefense Forces was General Yurii Halushkin. In May 2022, he was replaced by Ihor Tansyura, and in October 2023, Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Major General Anatoliy Barhylevych to this position.