Commander of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence assault group killed in action
Pravda Ukraine
Colonel Kostiantyn “Nelson” Zhuk, a commander of assault units and former battalion commander, was killed in action in May 2024 while covering a retreat by his comrades in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast. He was 68.
Source: Bratstvo, a special unit of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), on Facebook; Andrii Kovalov, spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Facebook
Quote from Bratstvo: “Despite his respectable age, he joined the DIU’s Bratstvo battalion after the start of the full-scale war. He was in charge of several units for recruiting foreign volunteers. He took part in managing the defence of Zmiinyi (Snake) Island. He was killed in Vovchansk as an assault group commander, covering a retreat by his comrades.”
Details: His brothers-in-arms say that before the war, Kostiantyn Zhuk was a professional soldier, president of the National Motorcycle Association of Ukraine, and one of the founders of Plast (the largest scouting organisation in Ukraine) in Kyiv. He had been a member of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) since the 1990s.
General Staff spokesperson Andrii Kovalov said that Zhuk was killed in May 2024, but “there were certain reasons for keeping this secret for so long”.
Quote from Andrii Kovalov: “At the time of the defence of Kyiv, he [Kostiantyn Zhuk – ed.] was already of non-conscription age and no unit would take him, but he could not sit idly by. He formed and armed the Free Ukraine territorial hromada volunteer military formation under the 112th Separate Brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Indeed, during the defence of Kyiv, it was one of the most effective and efficient territorial hromada volunteer formations.”
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