anders johnsen

Friends, I have important news to share. Oleksandr Kovalenko, callsign “Hook,” the commander of the 24th Separate Assault Regiment “Aidar,” is being removed from his position. For me, this is more than just a news story. I know Oleksandr not from someone else’s accounts or posts on the internet. Our paths crossed in war. He began his combat journey in 2014 as an ordinary soldier in the volunteer battalion “Aidar.” When I joined the battalion, Hook was already a company commander. I saw him where it mattered most — not behind a desk, but on the battlefield. He personally took part in the liberation of Pavlivka near Vuhledar. I was there alongside him. Those were brutal battles, where the value of a commander’s decisions was measured not by rank or title, but by the lives of his people and the results achieved on the battlefield. That is precisely why this situation feels so deeply unjust. Oleksandr Kovalenko is more than a commander. He is part of Aidar’s history, a man whose name is inseparable from the unit’s combat journey and the lives of those who have fought through this war. He is one of the symbols of Aidar. And I want to ask a question that I am sure many people are asking themselves: if not Hook, then who? I do not know all the circumstances behind this decision, and I will not present assumptions as facts. But I firmly believe one thing: people who have spent years proving their loyalty to Ukraine through actions, not words, deserve respect, fair treatment, and justice. The cost of trust in war is far too high. And it takes very little to destroy what was built over years of sacrifice, losses, and hard fighting. Commanders who have walked this path alongside their people cannot be judged solely by what is written on paper. Behind every name lies a history, a responsibility, and the trust of the people who serve under them. I believe this situation deserves an explanation. Combat achievements must not be dismissed. And justice must not depend on a position or title.