Zelensky appoints Oleksandr Syrskyi as new Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, replacing Valerii Zaluzhnyi

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, as the new Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU), according to a statement on Zelensky’s Telegram channel. General Valerii Zaluzhnyi previously held the position of AFU Commander-in-Chief.

“Today, a new management team is taking over the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I want the vision of the war to be unified among our soldiers in Robotyne or in Avdiivka, as well as in the General Staff and at the Headquarters. I held dozens of conversations with commanders of various ranks. In particular, today I spoke with generals Andrii Hnatov, Mykhailo Drapatyi, and Ihor Skybiuk, and colonels Pavlo Palisa and Vadym Sukharevskyi. They are all being considered for leadership positions in the army and will serve under the guidance of the most experienced Ukrainian commander,” said the President of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that “today a decision was made on the need to change the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

Earlier, Zelensky said that he had met with Zaluzhnyi and proposed that he “remain part of the team.”

“I met with General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. I thanked him for the two years of defending Ukraine. We discussed the renewal that the Armed Forces of Ukraine require. We also discussed who could be part of the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The time for such a renewal is now. I proposed to General Zaluzhnyi to remain part of the team,” wrote Zelensky.