Mr. Zelensky officially fired Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny 0
(Dan Tri) – After days of speculation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky officially dismissed Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny and appointed Army Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi to replace him.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny in the photo shared by both of them on February 8, when Mr. Zelensky dismissed General Zaluzhny (Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky).
`I have appointed Senior General Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,` Kyiv Independent quoted Mr. Zelensky as saying in a speech on the evening of February 8 (local time).
`He has experience of successful defense – he is the one who conducted the defensive campaign in Kiev. He also has experience of successful offense – the campaign to regain Kharkiv,` Mr. Zelensky said of General Syrskyi.
Also in the speech, Mr. Zelensky said that Generals Andrii Hnatov, Mykhailo Drapatyi and Ihor Skybiuk, as well as Colonels Pavel Palisa and Vadym Sukharevskyi, are being considered for leadership positions in the army.
`Starting today, a new command team will take charge of the Armed Forces,` the Ukrainian President said.
Before the above announcement, Mr. Zelensky posted on Telegram with a photo of the President of Ukraine standing with General Zaluzhny.
`I met General Zaluzhny and thanked him for his two years of service,` Mr. Zelensky said.
Mr. Zelensky made the above announcement after both Ukrainian and foreign press agencies reported that the President was about to fire Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny.
In an interview on February 4 with Italy’s Rai News, Mr. Zelensky confirmed that he is planning to reform Ukraine’s leadership on a large scale.
On the same day, February 8, General Zaluzhny posted a similar message from Mr. Zelensky and attached a photo of the two of them together.
`We just met with the president. An important and serious conversation. A decision was made about the need to change the approach and strategy,` Mr. Zaluzhny wrote.
`The challenges of 2022 are different from 2024. Therefore, everyone must change and adapt to the new reality. To win together,` he added.
The general is highly trusted
Responding to the press on February 4, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed that Washington had told Kiev that it would not be involved in the country’s personnel decisions.
Mr. Zaluzhny has held the position of Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine since July 2021.
Rumors about disagreements between the two people received increasing attention after Mr. Zaluzhny appeared in the Economist newspaper, saying that the conflict was deadlocked and Ukraine was at risk of falling into the trap of a protracted war.
Mr. Zelensky later said he did not agree with this point of view.
On December 4, 2023, Ukrainska Pravda reported that Mr. Zelensky was said to have `overtaken` General Zaluzhny in the process of contacting a number of military commanders.
Poll results in December 2023 showed that 43% of Ukrainians believe that there may be disagreements between Mr. Zelensky and Mr. Zaluzhny, but only 8% believe that the situation is very serious.
That poll also showed that General Zaluzhny had a 92% approval rating, making him Ukraine’s most trustworthy military leader.
Ukrainska Pravda last week quoted sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) as saying that the SBU had advised the President of Ukraine that the dismissal of General Zaluzhny could lead to instability in Kiev.
