President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
The Ukrainian President announced Oleksandr Syrskyi as Zaluzhnyi’s replacement.
Zelenskyy posted a photograph of himself with Zaluzhnyi alongside the following statement; “I met with General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. I thanked him for the two years of defending Ukraine.”
“We discussed the renewal that the Armed Forces of Ukraine require. We also discussed who could be part of the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“The time for such a renewal is now. I proposed to General Zaluzhnyi to remain part of the team. We will definitely win! Glory to Ukraine!”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Shortly afterwards, Zelenskyy announced that he had appointed Syrskyi.
In a video statement, Zelenskyy stated, “Today I have decided to renew the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
“This is not about surnames. And certainly not about politics,” the Ukrainian President said.
“This is about the system of our army, about management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and about attracting the experience of battlefield commanders of this war. Every soldier, every sergeant, and every officer who sees the frontline understands what decisions are needed.
“The army’s actions must become much more technologically advanced. The generalship must be reset. Headquarters at all levels must know and feel the frontline just like soldiers at the forefront.”
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
According to Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are now almost a million people.
He stated that the majority of them have not felt the frontline in the same way as the minority who are actually at the forefront, actually fighting.
“This means that we need a different approach to rotations in particular. A different approach to frontline management. A different approach to mobilization and recruitment,” he said.
He added, “All this will give more respect to the soldier. And restore clarity to actions in the war.”
Zelenskyy said that Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi has successful experience in defense, adding that he led the Kyiv defense operation.
“He also has a successful experience of the offensive – the Kharkiv liberation operation,” Zelenskyy added,
Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal has been a much-discussed topic in Ukraine over the past 10 days, since a meeting last week in which Zelenskiy reportedly asked him to resign, which the commander declined to do.
Ukrainian Defence Minister Hails Zaluzhnyi’s Service To Ukraine
The Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov, thanked Zaluzhnyi for his service but said it was time for a new direction in the army.
“Today, a decision was made on the need to change the leadership of the armed forces of Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
“War changes and demands change. Battles 2022, 2023 and 2024 are three different realities. 2024 will bring new changes for which we must be ready. New approaches, new strategies are needed.”
Rustem Umerov
Ukrainian Presidential Adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak stated that Zaluzhnyi’s resignation is due to “the need to revise the tactics of actions that did not fully yield the proper results last year.”
He added that it is necessary to “prevent stagnation at the front line” and to find “new functional and high-tech solutions” to maintain and develop the initiative.
Zaluzhnyi, in a Telegram message, did not announce he had stepped down but said he accepted that “everyone must change and adapt to new realities” and agreed that there is a “need to change approaches and strategy” in the war.
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