The court has revoked the "undisciplined" status of Oleksandr Shyrshyn, former commander of Battalion 47 of the “Magura” Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was recognized as such by an inspection last year, when he publicly accused the command of "moronic" tasks and unjustified losses of personnel.
Shyrshyn reported this on Facebook.
According to him, the court has now recognized that his critical post is not a disciplinary offense, "if it does not contain restricted information and is aimed at drawing attention to real problems".
The court also found that the problems discussed in Shyrshynʼs publication were confirmed during an internal audit.
"This decision does not mean that the commander is always right or that the military must resolve all issues publicly. It means something else: the state cannot punish a person just because their criticism turned out to be inconvenient. The law must apply equally to everyone — from the soldier to the commander-in-chief," the military man wrote.
Shyrshyn added that some people discouraged him from appealing the decision of the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky to verify the actions of the ex-combatant, saying it wasnʼt worth it.
"Itʼs worth it. This is another step towards more justice, more trust, and stronger institutions in the Armed Forces," the military officer emphasized.
What preceded
In May 2025, Shyrshyn submitted a report for dismissal and publicly accused the command of "moronic" tasks and unjustified loss of life.
He later said that during the battles in Kursk and on the Ukrainian-Russian border, he repeatedly faced "doomed to failure" tasks that exposed personnel to the risk of unjustified losses. Shirshin noted that he created the post as a call to change approaches to management and adequately assess oneʼs capabilities.
In response to Shirshinʼs statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the creation of a working group to study the circumstances mentioned by the military. They promised to "make appropriate decisions" based on the results of the inspection.
In June of the same year, Shyrshyn wrote that in the conclusion of the inspection he was called “undisciplined” and accused of spreading official information on social networks. He subsequently resigned from his post as battalion commander of the 47th “Magura” Motorized Rifle Brigade.
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