Former leader of Right Sector becomes advisor to Commander-in-Chief of Ukrainian Armed Forces
Commander of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, ex-MP, ex-leader of the right-wing Ukrainian nationalist political party and paramilitary movement Right Sector Dmytro Yarosh was appointed as an adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"By order of Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny, I was appointed as an adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Thank you for your trust! Together we will win!", said Yarosh on his Facebook page.
Yarosh did not provide details of when and how he received the invitation to take this post but said that the order was issued in October. According to him, he has known Lieutenant General Zaluzhny for many years and "had absolutely no doubt whether to accept it" when he received an offer for this position.
"There are already specific projects, including those proposed by me to the Commander-in-Chief, he, accordingly, has certain plans. This includes the involvement of volunteers in the activities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of Ukraine. There is also work with Ukrainian youth, there are many different aspects. Today is the first day, although the order was issued on October 20, but at the same time I still need to get up to date. There is a lot of work, I am convinced that we will do it," Yarosh said in an interview with Donbas.Realii.
Yarosh also noted that he still heads the Ukrainian Volunteer Army.
"I was in different positions in different units. I had about 10 thousand people reporting to me. Accordingly, when there was an escalation in the spring, the vast majority of these people were ready to join the ranks of volunteer battalions, the Armed Forces and so on. Now it is very important to summarize all this, to organize it, to direct it. I am still the commander of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army. I did not go anywhere from there. We just did not talk about it so much, but at the same time everyone did what is necessary from us to protect our statehood," he said.
Yarosh did not specify whether it is planned to create new volunteer formations or integrate volunteers into the Ukrainian Armed Forces, saying that this "will depend on the situation."
"For example, if there is a large-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, and it is planned, we know about it, it is possible at any time, volunteers can be involved in very different formations, very different aspects, according to different schemes. I can't speak for various reasons," Yarosh added.
Commenting on the possible reaction of Russia to its appointment and possible aggravations on the front line, the former head of Right Sector noted that violations of the ceasefire are still occurring.
"Every day Russian terrorist troops attack. Every day our guys die or get injured, concussions, combat injuries. And it is ridiculously simple to use the appointment of Yarosh as an adviser. And it is likely that the Russians will talk about it, even shout," he suggested.
In 2014, Yarosh ran in the presidential elections in Ukraine, taking 11th place. Later, Yarosh was elected to parliament in the 39th district in the Dnipropetrovsk region
In 2013, Yarosh became the founder of the right-wing Ukrainian paramilitary movement Right Sector, which later because a party. At the end of 2015, Yarosh left Right Sector due to disagreements with other leaders of the movement and created a new one called the Yarosh State Initiative.
The deputy of the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada Andrei Sharaskin is currently the Right Sector.