The president Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukrainian troops on the southeastern front and awarded medals, his office announced Sunday amid intense speculation that the popular army chief Valery Zaluzny is soon to be fired.

“It is an honor to be here today. To support the warriors and present them with awards. They face a difficult and critical mission to repel the enemy and defend Ukraine.”Zelensky said in a statement after visiting the Zaporizhia region.

The Ukrainian presidency announced that Zelensky visited forward positions of the Ukrainian army near the village of Robotinye, which is almost on the battle line.

The southeastern settlement of Robotinye was liberated at the end of August in the counter-offensive against Russian forces.

The president’s visit to the battle lines comes at a time of uncertainty surrounding the fate of army chief Valery Zaluzny.

Two sources said yesterday, Friday, that the Ukrainian government informed the White House that plans to oust the country’s top military commander overseeing the war against the Russian occupation forces.

The alleged move to oust Zaluzni, who has clashed with Zelensky over a range of issues, follows a Ukrainian counter-offensive last year that failed to recapture a significant swath of Russian-held territory.

Known as “Iron General”, Zaluzni is extremely popular. His removal could hurt the morale of Ukrainian soldiers fighting to hold their positions on the front lines of a 1,000 km front against a massive Russian force with large stockpiles of ammunition.