Former Lviv military academy chief Lt. Gen. Pavlo Tkachuk’s dismissal has reignited debate over Soviet-era leadership, corruption and the lack of accountability in Ukraine’s military education system.
Kyiv Post
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For more than two decades, Lt. Gen. Pavlo Tkachuk helped shape the officers who would go on to lead Ukraine’s army.
As head of the Hetman Petro Sahaidachnyi National Ground Forces Academy in Lviv, Tkachuk oversaw the training of generations of Ukrainian officers at one of the country’s most prestigious military institutions. The academy traces its origins to 1899, when an Austrian Infantry Cadet School was established in Lviv.
But after years of complaints, investigations and allegations of misconduct surrounding the academy, Tkachuk was removed from his post in December 2024.
The fight over his legacy has since become part of a broader debate inside Ukraine’s military. Well into the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion, officers and military reformers alike are increasingly asking whether Soviet-era leadership styles and entrenched patronage networks continue to hinder the modernization of the Ukrainian army.
“I believe that generals like Tkachuk directly hinder Ukraine’s ability to win the war because they occupy critical leadership positions while failing to reform institutions under their control,” said Ivan Halenko, a Ukrainian army officer and former academy cadet who studied there from 2020 to 2024.
A Soviet-trained officer who later became a lieutenant general and academic, Tkachuk spent more than two decades leading the academy while also serving in regional politics.
Moscow’s foreign intelligence agency links war in Ukraine to an unresolved 1850s grievance between Britain and Russia.
The allegations that ultimately led to his dismissal were, in many ways, complaints about that culture itself.
According to reporting by Militarnyi and other Ukrainian outlets, cadets complained of bullying, poor-quality food, shortages of medical supplies and being pressured to contribute money for basic academy needs.
Lawmaker Yulia Yatsyk said cadets also complained that leave was sometimes granted only if a parent or spouse physically came to collect them. She described the practice as absurd, noting that some cadets were already serving officers in their 20s and 30s.
Among those who publicly challenged the academy’s leadership was cadet Oleksandr Popovych, who testified before a parliamentary commission examining complaints about conditions at the institution. In later social media posts, Popovych alleged he faced retaliation after speaking out and credited public pressure with helping bring about Tkachuk’s dismissal.
The call for accountability
For some critics, however, the dismissal marked only the beginning of a larger question: whether accountability would follow.
“Many people see him as a symbol of military corruption in Ukraine,” said Halenko. “The problem is that he was removed from office, but he was never punished.”
Bohdan Krotevych, the former chief of staff of the Azov Brigade, wrote on X in May that Tkachuk represented “the worst remnants left in the army from the Soviet era,” pointing to questions about assets and what he described as a degrading attitude toward cadets.
If Tkachuk escaped accountability, he argued, it would send a message that senior officers could continue using their positions for personal gain while treating subordinates as servants.
“Cases like Tkachuk’s contribute to Ukraine’s inability to outperform Russia in the training and preparation of military personnel,” said Halenko. “And that is a critically important issue.”
In 2020, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced an investigation into academy officials over allegations that more than 16 million hryvnias had been embezzled through food procurement contracts between 2017 and 2020.
The Academy declined to address specific questions about allegations raised by former cadets, corruption investigations, or Tkachuk’s tenure.
Former cadets describe an institution that, in their view, changed little during Tkachuk’s tenure.
“The academy preserved many Soviet-era practices,” Halenko said. “From what I observed, there were no significant reforms.”
Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian member of parliament from the Holos party, said that the challenges facing Ukraine’s military education system extend far beyond a single academy.
“Every military academy in Ukraine needs to be led by people with real combat experience,” Ustinova said. “For too long, institutions have been run by officers who were educated in Soviet military systems and never served on the front lines.”
Analysts say that the quality of military education has become increasingly consequential as Ukraine rapidly expands and replenishes its armed forces during the war.
In January 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Col. Roman Kachur, a decorated artillery commander and Hero of Ukraine, to lead the academy. Announcing the appointment, Zelensky said Ukraine needed military education built on the lessons of the current war and instructed Kachur to conduct a comprehensive audit of academy finances, staffing and cadet training.
“We need the highest quality training for our soldiers and officers,” Zelensky said at the time.
“Real change in the Ukrainian military is coming from the ground up, from volunteers and innovation,” said Pavel Shurmei, commander of the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment. “The top? I can’t say.”
Halenko says changes did become visible soon after Kachur’s arrival, citing new training equipment, simulation systems, and modernization efforts.
“This is not only about one general,” Halenko said. “It is about whether people responsible for failures and corruption inside military institutions are held accountable.”
For some critics, however, Tkachuk’s dismissal left unanswered questions about accountability. Ustinova noted that allegations of procurement irregularities and corruption had been publicly discussed for years.
“What surprises me is that allegations of corruption were publicly discussed for years,” she said. “If investigators uncovered procurement fraud in 2020 or 2021, why weren’t the cases prosecuted? Why weren’t they in court?”
Recent events elsewhere in Ukraine’s military education system have reinforced concerns about oversight and accountability. In April 2026, Col. Anatolii Onofriichuk, a deputy head of the National Defense University of Ukraine, was detained on suspicion of accepting an 82,000-hryvnia ($2,000) bribe.
For Krotevych, the issue also extends beyond one academy or one general. It is whether Ukraine can dismantle what he calls the “military feudalism” inherited from the Soviet era while fighting Russia’s ongoing full-scale invasion.
“Tkachuk was removed from his position in 2024, but he has not faced legal consequences,” Halenko said. “Today he serves in the anti-corruption department of the Lviv Regional Council.”
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.
