Zelenskyy replaces top military chief nearly two years into war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday said in a social media post that he had appointed the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, to lead the country’s armed forces. The general has successful offensive experience from taking back the northeastern city of Kharkiv and defensive experience from protecting Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. Syrskyi replaced Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who had led the nation’s response to Russia’s invasion for almost two years. Zelenskyy is considering other military commanders for positions in the military’s new leadership team, he said in a video posted to social media.

Why did Zelenskyy change leadership? The Ukrainian president over the weekend said he was considering removing Zaluzhnyi to revamp the country’s war effort. One of Zelenskyy’s advisors, Mykhailo Podolayak, wrote in a social media post on Thursday that Ukraine needs to review its tactics to prevent stagnation on the front line.

Dig deeper: Read Josh Schumacher’s report about the U.S. Senate’s attempts to give Ukraine more aid.