Oleksandr Shyrshyn was appointed battalion commander in July 2024. From the beginning of its formation, the 47th brigade was stationed in the Vuhlehirsk, Tokmak, Pokrovsk, and Avdiivka directions. In October 2024, it was redeployed to the Kursk region, where its fighters are still holding the defense.
In January 2023, historian Timothy Snyder tweeted a photo of a Ukrainian soldier in a trench reading his book “The Path to Unfreedom.” The photo shows Oleksandr Shyrshyn.
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Journalist Yuriy Butusov publicly supported Shyrshyn. In his opinion, the commander openly questioned the actions of the Supreme Commander-in-Chiefʼs Headquarters, the General Staff, and the command of the Kursk group. Therefore, according to Butusov, the statement "deserves an official assessment". At the same time, Butusov adds that the hostilities in the Kursk region are indeed being conducted with gross errors — "the equipment is being hit head-on by drones, the tasks do not correspond to real capabilities, and the command does not draw conclusions".
The MP Maryana Bezuhla commented on the situation briefly: "Everyone knows everything. Volodymyr Zelensky knows everything." She also stated that as long as Oleksandr Syrsky remains in office, he will "destroy the Armed Forces of Ukraine no worse than the Russians". According to her, the president remains "deaf" to these problems.
Former “Azov” chief of staff Bohdan Krotevych also tweeted: “The front relies on people like this battalion commander [Olexander Shyrshyn] — initiative, selfless. But definitely not on ʼstrategy and tactics’, because they simply don’t exist.” He also noted that the current military leadership has turned the army into a “political show”, where “one person holds on to the chair and at the same time despises those who can be considered an alternative”.
Fighters of the 47th separate mechanized brigade "Magura".
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The 3rd Assault Brigade supported the General Staffʼs decision to create a working group to investigate the circumstances in the 47th Brigade. They noted: "Internal disputes in the army require a clear and reasoned response. Until the investigation is completed, comments and public discussions are inappropriate." They also added that the operation in Kursk is "one of the important ones on enemy territory, and thanks to these efforts, our country continues to exist".
Commander of the First Separate Assault Regiment Dmytro Filatov believes that “a real commander does not look for the guilty outside, but defends his position with arguments, conveys it to the leadership, and offers effective solutions”. According to him, simply saying “I’m leaving” is just a desertion.
Major Oleh Shyriayev, commander of the 225th Assault Regiment, criticized the “systemic discrediting of the army under the guise of criticizing the leadership”. He noted that the responsibility for carrying out combat missions lies with tactical-level commanders. Shyriayev also called for avoiding public discussion of actions at the front: “The army is not a forum, and the war is not a place for personal shows”.
Robert Brovdy, founder and commander of the “Madyarʼs Birds” unit, believes that all problems should be resolved at the unit level through dialogue. Public complaints, according to him, only harm the army. “We don’t feel sorry and we do not wash our dirty linen in public. We sort it out in the brigade barn, then there’s nothing to wash,” Brovdy emphasized.
The “Magura” fighters near a “Grad” launcher.
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Ihor Obolensky, commander of the 2nd Corps of the Charter National Guard, expressed the opinion that the command staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is able to listen to commanders on the ground and make informed decisions. In his opinion, "responsibility is the ability to convey oneʼs vision, to convince, to take on the burden of a decision and its consequences".