DAfter that, the President of Ukraine replaced the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service and the deputy head of the SBU. Kiev explained the rotation in the army and special services by conflicts between the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine and new challenges
Vladimir Zelensky
President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky dismissed the head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Sergei Korniychuk, and the commander of the Joint Forces Operation in the east of the country, Vladimir Kravchenko. This is reported by the press service of the head of state.
Major General Sergei Shaptala, who previously held the position of First Deputy Commander of the operational command “South” of the AFU Ground Forces, was appointed the new Chief of the General Staff.
Lieutenant-General Alexander Pavlyuk, who previously commanded the troops of the West group, took Kravchenko’s place.
In addition, the president removed Yevgeny Moisyuk, commander of the airborne assault troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, from his post. Zelensky explained the changes in the personnel composition by the modernization of the army and the need for the country to be ready for the most effective performance of combat tasks.
“After the rotations and the replacement of commanders and leaders both in the army and in the Ministry of Defense, I expect more systematic work and understanding by every soldier of our army of the prospects for the development of the armed forces as a whole,” Zelensky commented on the new appointments.
The day before, he replaced the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Valery Khomchak took the place of Ruslan Khomchak, who headed the AFU since March 2020. Previously, he commanded the troops of the operational command “North”.
“Vladimir Zelensky has no doubts about the patriotism, loyalty to the oath and professionalism of Khomchak, but the president wants to see synergy between the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We do not see such synergy, but we see conflicts, ” the presidential press secretary Sergey Nikiforov commented on the resignation.
In July, Zelensky dismissed several heads of the Ukrainian special services. Among others, the deputy head of the SBU Ruslan Baranetsky and the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVR) Valery Kondratyuk left their posts.
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