Zelensky meets with AFU Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, proposes he ‘remain part of the team’

Update: 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), replacing Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) Valerii Zaluzhnyi and proposed that he “remain part of the team,” according to a statement on Zelensky’s Telegram channel.

“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, without specifying if this implies that Zaluzhnyi would be dismissed from his current position as head of the AFU.

Zaluzhnyi also posted about the meeting with Zelensky, stating that they had “an important and serious conversation.” “A decision has been made on the need for a change in approaches and strategy,” wrote Zaluzhnyi, without clarifying whether this refers to his dismissal.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said that a decision had been made to change the AFU leadership.