A new commander has been appointed to lead the 57th Motorized Brigade of the 16th Army Corps, according to an official press release issued by the brigade.
Colonel Yevhen Solodayev, who had commanded the unit since June 2025, formally handed over the brigade’s battle flag to its new leader, Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Popovich.
Solodayev previously replaced Oleksandr Bakulin, who at the time was appointed commander of the 19th Army Corps. During his tenure, Solodayev oversaw the brigade’s transition to a linear structure and played an active role in its development.
About the new commander
Research by MilitaryLand shows that Lieutenant Colonel Vitaly Popovich volunteered to join the Armed Forces after seeing news reports about the battles for Ilovaisk and Donetsk Airport. After completing training at one of the Armed Forces’ training centers, he was assigned to the 93rd Mechanized Brigade as a machine-gun platoon commander. The brigade was then responsible for defending the Butivka mine near Avdiivka. Within months, Popovich was promoted to company commander and took charge of the mine’s defense.
In December 2016, a tragedy struck his company: a serviceman killed a fellow soldier, attempted to steal a BMP-2, and planned to defect. He was detained but managed to disclose the Defense Forces’ positions. Following these events, Popovich left active service and moved to the reserve, later joining the Naftogaz company, where he worked until 2022.
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Popovich returned to military service. He initially rejoined the 93rd Mechanized Brigade and, in 2023, transferred to the newly formed 117th Mechanized Brigade, where he served until his appointed to 57th Motorized Brigade.
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