Ukraine appoints former army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi as ambassador to U.K.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has approved the appointment of former Armed Forces commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi as the next Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday. 

The Foreign Ministry also stated that it had sent a request to the U.K. to finalize the appointment. 

Zelensky replaced Zaluzhnyi with a new top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, on February 8. Considered the most popular military figure in the country, Zaluzhnyi had commanded Ukraine’s Armed Forces since July 2021. His dismissal came after months of media reports about a rumored conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhnyi, against the backdrop of Ukraine’s unsuccessful counteroffensive in 2023.