Colonel Manko, who is being considered for appointment as commander of Ukraine’s assault forces, had posted videos of himself dancing to Russian songs on social media

Colonel Valentyn Manko, who is reportedly being considered for appointment as commander of Ukraine’s new Assault Forces, previously posted TikTok videos such as “Which character from Slovo Patsana am I?” and a dance clip set to the Russian song ‘You Can’t Blame the Crazy Ones’.

This was reported on Facebook by Bohdan Krotevych, former chief of staff of the 12th National Guard Brigade “Azov,” who also shared the videos.

In the clips from 2023–2024, which Krotevych said he found on Manko’s Instagram and TikTok accounts, the officer can be seen dancing to a track by the Russian band Pnevmoslon and using a TikTok filter to discover which character from the Russian TV series Slovo Patsana (“The Boy’s Word”) he resembles.

Earlier, MP Maryana Bezuhla criticized Manko, calling him “a raider and a bandit.”

She later said she had spoken with him, and that Manko denied any criminal ties and promised to provide additional information.

“I still haven’t received a justification for why it’s necessary to create a separate new branch of the armed forces — ‘Assault Troops’ — when we already have Air Assault Forces and Special Operations Forces,” Bezuhla said.

Manko, who fought in Donbas in 2014–2015, first became widely known a decade ago when he was implicated in criminal cases. At the time, there were numerous complaints accusing his unit of robbery, looting, and illegal seizures of property in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) zone. Criminal cases were opened against him for armed robbery, and he was placed on a wanted list.

Manko was removed from the wanted list shortly after he testified against former UKROP party leader Hennadiy Korban, who was then in conflict with President Petro Poroshenko. Later, leaked correspondence between Manko and Poroshenko ally Ihor Kononenko surfaced in the media, apparently discussing details of that deal.

In 2018, Manko won a competition for the position of head of the State Service for War Veterans and ATO Participants, but the Cabinet of Ministers refused to approve his appointment after journalists reminded the public of his controversial past.