Zelensky fires his army chief in major shake-up of Ukraine’s military

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has replaced his army chief as part of a major shake up of the country’s military leadership as the country fights Russia’s invasion.

The move, which comes after weeks of speculation after Mr Zelensky and General Valery Zaluzhny clashed over strategy on the frontline. It maeks the most serious change in Ukraine’s top military brass since Vladimir Putin decided to invade Ukraine in February 2022.

General Zaluzhny has been replaced by Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s land forces.

In a post on social media, Mr Zelenskyy said he thanked General Zaluzhny for his two years of service as commander-in-chief and discussed possible replacements for the top military job. “The time for such a renewal is now,” Mr Zelensky said.

“I proposed to General Zaluzhnyi to remain part of the team,” he added.

Speculation over General Zaluzhny’s dismissial reached its height in the last 10 days, since a meeting lasrt week when Mr Zelensky is said to have asked the army chief to resign, which General Zaluzhny declined to do. Mr Zelensky’s desire to replace his top army commander was clear, but there were suggestions he may be having trouble getting someone to take over from General Zaluzhny, who is extremely popular with both rank-and-file soliders and the public.

General Zaluzhny, 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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