The Ukrainian Minister of Defense announced this Thursday, February 8, the replacement of the very popular commander-in-chief of his armed forces Valery Zalouzhny, a major change which was the subject of persistent rumors. “Today the decision was made to change the command of the Ukrainian armed forces,” Roustem Oumerov said on Facebook, saying he was “grateful” to Valery Zaluzhny.
In recent weeks, the disagreements between Zaluzhny and Zelensky over the strategy to pursue in the war against Russia have become increasingly evident. The Ukrainian president, however, praised this Thursday the work of the general at the head of the Ukrainian armed forces, proposing that he remain in his “team”. “We talked about the changes that the armed forces need. We also discussed who could be part of a renewed command of the armed forces of Ukraine. The time for renewal is now,” wrote Volodymyr Zelensky on X. For his part, General Zaluzhny said that Ukraine’s strategy must “change and adapt” to fight Russia.
“Ukraine’s most experienced general” as replacement
To replace Zalouzhny, Volodymyr Zelensky decided to appoint General Oleksandr Syrsky, who until now had been the head of his army. The head of state described his new commander as “the most experienced general in Ukraine”, stressing that he had commanded the defense of Kiev at the start of the Russian invasion almost two years ago, then the counter-attack. offensive of autumn 2022 which liberated the Kharkiv region.