"Currently, we are strengthening our position in Kursk for upcoming negotiations," said Valentin Manko.

- Mr. Valentyn, I understand you are currently in the hospital. What happened?

- What happened? (with feigned surprise). Nothing, everything will be fine, I will get through this.

- On September 30, you were awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. For what actions did President Volodymyr Zelensky grant you this honorary title? As you know, you have fought in various directions.

- Yes, I was on the Kursk direction, in Vovchansk, and the Kharkiv directions. This is just recently. Before that, I commanded a brigade and special operations assault units. I was involved in Irpin, Makariv, Zaporizhzhia region, and Lysychansk… And I have been fighting – with breaks – since 2014.

- As I understand, you have recently been focused on the Kursk direction.

- I can say that our first infantry battalions entered Kursk and advanced on average 10-20 kilometers. I commanded assault units in the Kursk direction.

- What is the current situation in Kursk?

- In Kursk, we are holding strong and effectively grinding the occupiers with all our might.

Now the enemy has changed tactics. Previously, they tried to move in vehicles, using armored groups. The Russians would come to us with 3, 4, or even 10 vehicles and attempted to storm our positions. This happened several times a day, just to give you an idea. The attacks didn’t stop. We destroyed them, and an hour later, we would see them coming again.

But this couldn’t go on forever. We have maximally depleted their equipment. Just like on the Donetsk direction, they have been foot soldiers for a long time.

Now they have completely switched to a tactic of throwing in waves of infantry. Initially, the orks came at us in small groups using armored vehicles. Now the number of armored groups has decreased, but the number of infantry has increased, thanks to soldiers from North Korea. However, they lack coordination and have no combat experience. They were trained in a “Soviet” style of warfare, making them easier for us to eliminate.

- Recently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been shaken by scandals, such as the blatant abuse of soldiers in the 211th pontoon-bridge brigade. Before that, there were allegations concerning the Azov brigade. Additionally, there was an interview with Markus. Is this just a coincidence, and is there really horror in the Armed Forces, or is it an attempt to discredit them? If so, why?

- This is definitely not a coincidence. The Commander-in-Chief keeps his finger on the pulse and tries to learn about such stories first. And if any information comes through, it is nipped in the bud.

- So is this an attempt to discredit the Armed Forces?

- Yes, I am convinced that this is indeed an attempt at discreditation. Some people are currently playing politics. Someone wants to replace the Commander-in-Chief.

And despite this, I don’t see anyone who can take that position. Commanding certain branches of the military is one thing. It’s another thing entirely to command all the Armed Forces of Ukraine globally. Unfortunately, we do not have specialists who could step in and immediately take on this role.

What does it mean to replace the Commander-in-Chief? The military ends up in an unclear state.

Especially since changes are already happening. The commander of the Ground Forces has been changed. And things will improve because there are young leaders like Mykhailo Drapaty, who is currently in his place, and together with him, we can change a lot in the ranks of the Armed Forces.

- In other words, sharp personnel changes are not timely at the moment?

- Right now, it seems to me that we are experiencing the most intense moment of the war. The Russians need to seize as much territory as possible before negotiations, while we need to hold onto as much as we can and reclaim our lands or seize some of theirs.

And at this time, changing everything would leave the Armed Forces destabilized. Imagine – the enemy understands this. It would be the biggest sabotage, leading to disaster. Therefore, I believe that this will not happen.

- What is your opinion on implementing a corps-division system in the Armed Forces? Is it possible to introduce such a reform in the army now, in wartime conditions?

- As of today, I do not see the possibility. Just imagine the level of coordination required. We have platoon-tactical, company-tactical, battalion-tactical, brigade-tactical training. And it is proposed to elevate this to the division level.

A division should function as a single fist. Unfortunately, the intensity of the war today does not allow us to prepare divisions.

- By the way, regarding training. As far as I know, you have your own training center...

- Yes, I train assault units. And now we have been given the opportunity to improve our training. However, returning to the topic of creating a divisional system, I must say that the intensity of the war simply does not allow us to do this. Though of course, I would be in favor.

- Tell us a bit about your training center.

I created it myself. My family is engaged in agriculture and invested significant money into the center. We have already trained more than one battalion and more than one brigade. Overall, I train the best units.

- There is currently a lot of talk about future peace, negotiations both inside and outside Ukraine. However, it is absolutely unclear what conditions it should be under. How realistic are these discussions? What do you think?

- Our task is to fight. I have been on the front lines for almost 10 months without sleep or rotation. Given the intensity of the war, we see that it is gradually moving towards negotiations, as I mentioned, the pressure is increasing.

But these negotiations are a matter for politicians. We work on our front, and they on theirs. We hope that our operations in Kursk, despite their high cost, help politicians conduct negotiations and strengthen their positions in this process.

Through our counter-assault actions, where the enemy attempts to attack, we successfully conduct our operations. We stop the enemy in various directions. But this is war… sometimes the enemy conducts their operations successfully. And unfortunately, we cannot predict all the enemy's actions across such a large front.

- Previously, before the full-scale war, you were involved in scandals in the media. There were even reports about your connections with Hennadiy Korban and Ihor Kolomoyskyi. Some correspondence surfaced. There were cases from the Security Service of Ukraine. How did it all end?

- I will start by saying that at the beginning of ATO, in 2014, the administration of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration genuinely helped us, the volunteers. I was forming units, and Kolomoyskyi, for whom I was an advisor, provided uniforms and purchased weapons. I started the war from Novohrodivka and reached Donetsk. The airport, Pisky, Mariinka, Ilovaisk.

As for what has been written about me, I say: sorry, you’re scumbags, go and file complaints. You all talk about how bad I am, but why don’t you go to the police? When I was appointed head of the State Service for Veterans Affairs, a lot of dirt was thrown at me.

Although I went there not empty-handed: I arranged for Canadian donations to support and rehabilitate veterans. It was about over a billion. But they tried to bring me down with all their might.

This negativity spread further, leading to rumors about my supposed criminal record. Later, of course, all of this was disproven. But that didn’t stop people from spinning tales that I had robbed someone. I say, find at least one person who has suffered from my actions.

However, when you command, you must understand that in the units there are all kinds of people: bandits, police officers, farmers, businesspeople. Different backgrounds. And anything can happen. What, do we not have this in civilian life? Thieves happen everywhere.

- What about the high-profile SBU case?

- It’s a whole detective story. Initially, the SBU created a myth that I was involved in some cases with the “Tornado” battalion. I never even saw them.

But then something strange happened: let anyone show me the case against me, and let anyone call me in for questioning or to court. Instead, a ton of rumors surfaced. It turned into one of those old Odessa jokes about a daughter-prostitute.