Successor appointed

So now after all: Zelensky replaces army chief

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) with the former Chief of the General Staff Valery Salushnyi

(Bild: AFP)

The rumor mill has been churning for some time, but now it's official: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi is replacing the head of the army following last year's failed offensive. On Thursday in Kiev, he appointed General Oleksandr Syrskyj, previously head of the ground forces, as the new head of the army. However, Zelenskyi asked the previous Chief of the General Staff, Valery Salushnyi, to continue to participate in the military leadership.

(Bild: AFP)

"Today it was decided to change the leadership of the Ukrainian armed forces," explained Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Thursday.

"Adapt to the new realities"
Salushnyj himself said that decisions had been made to change tactics and strategy. The tasks this year are different to those in 2022 and everyone should adapt to the new realities.

Oleksandr Syrskyi

(Bild: AFP)

"Hero of the Ukraine"
Born in Russia in 1965, the new commander-in-chief Syrskyj is considered one of the most prominent generals of the Ukraine war. He successfully defended the capital Kiev in the first months of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and received the highest military award "Hero of Ukraine" for his efforts. In July 2022, he planned the recapture of significant areas around the city of Kharkiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi (left) with Oleksandr Syrskyi

(Bild: AFP)

Defender of Bachmut
Shortly afterwards, he was at the head of the defenders of the eastern city of Bakhmut. This months-long battle for the town, which was ultimately completely destroyed and taken by Russian troops in May 2023, is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the Ukrainian war.

Die Schlacht um Bachmut bringt für beide Kriegsparteien hohe Verluste. Im Bild ist ein verwundeter ukrainischer Soldat zu sehen.

(Bild: AP)

(Bild: AFP)

The imminent dismissal of the popular Salushnyj in the middle of the war, which had been rumored for some time, had recently caused a stir in the Ukrainian media landscape. Salushnyi was appointed supreme commander of the Ukrainian armed forces in June 2021.

Salushnyi was the architect of the Ukrainian summer offensive in 2023
Under his leadership, the troops withstood the Russian invasion in February 2022. During the first year of the war, they even recaptured occupied parts of the Kharkiv region and the regional capital Kherson in the south. The 50-year-old Salushnyi was also the architect of the Ukrainian summer offensive in 2023, which made little progress against heavily fortified Russian defenses.

Valery Salushnyi

(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: APA/AFP/UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/Handout)

In a sensational article for the British magazine "The Economist", the general wrote that the war on the ground had reached a stalemate. Only large arms deliveries and a technological leap could bring the Ukrainian armed forces back on the offensive. Selensky publicly contradicted his top military officer in this assessment.

Disagreement on warfare
The leading figures responsible for the Ukrainian war effort were also divided on the issue of further mobilization of soldiers. According to media reports, Zelenskyi had already urged the commander-in-chief to resign at the end of January, but he refused.

The burly general was extremely popular with his soldiers and the population. As a result, speculation repeatedly arose that the military man was aiming for a political career of his own. He himself denied this. Salushnyj is one of the highest-ranking officers in the Ukrainian armed forces with no previous experience of the former Soviet army. He therefore relied on command structures based on the NATO model.