THE President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the country’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzny.

Ukraine’s president today praised General Valery Zaluzny’s work leading Ukraine’s armed forces and suggested he remain in his “team”, minutes before the Defense Ministry announced the departure of the popular chief of the general staff.

“We talked about the changes that the armed forces need. We discussed who could join a renewed command of the armed forces of Ukraine. The time for renewal is now. I suggested that General Zaluzny stay in the team,” Zelensky wrote on platform X.

Volodymyr Zelensky today appointed his ground army chief, General Oleksandr Syrsky, as head of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, replacing Valery Zaluzny.

The Ukrainian president described his new commander as “Ukraine’s most experienced general”, noting that he was the commander during the defense of Kiev at the beginning of the Russian invasion almost two years ago, and then the counter-offensive in autumn 2022 in which the Kharkiv region was liberated.

Zelensky stated that the Ukrainian army needs immediate changes with a new approach to conscription and recruitment. Ukrainian forces have proven they can regain control of the airspace, but have failed to achieve their land targets in 2023, he said.