Zelenskyy appoints new Ukrainian army chief, displacing popular military leader

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced Ukraine's popular army chief with his ground forces commander on Thursday, at a time when Russian forces are gaining the upper hand nearly two years into their war.

The shakeup ushering in a new military leadership follows months of speculation about a rift between Zelenskyy and army chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who many Ukrainians see as a national hero.

"As of today, a new management team takes over the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a statement.

He promoted ground forces chief Col.-Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, 58, to be the new head of the Armed Forces, citing his role in overseeing the defence of Kyiv in 2022 and the lightning Kharkiv counteroffensive later that year.

Syrskyi, who goes by the call sign "snow leopard," takes the helm amid deep uncertainty as Kyiv awaits vital military aid from the United States that has been delayed by Republicans in the U.S. Congress for months.

The U.S. State Department said the move to replace Zaluzhnyi was a "sovereign decision."

The Pentagon said Washington "will work effectively with Gen. Syrskyi, [as] we already have."

The popular 'Iron General'

With Ukraine struggling to overhaul how it mobilizes civilians into the army, the sacking of Zaluzhnyi could deal a blow to the morale of troops on a 1,000-kilometre front. It could also backfire politically, hurting Zelenskyy's ratings.

Zelenskyy said he was grateful to Zaluzhnyi for his time as army chief and posted a photograph of the two men shaking hands and smiling, with Zaluzhnyi flashing the peace sign.

Messages of gratitude for Zaluzhnyi, known widely as the "Iron General," flooded social media following the announcement. Some Ukrainians posted images of the top general alongside images of hearts.

Passers-by in central Kyiv openly questioned the move.

"This is a very odd decision. We know our enemy and it is not Zaluzhnyi," said Svitlana Kalinina, a consultant.

"I am very upset. I don't know about others but I am very upset. This is a signal that worries me," said Olena, a doctor.

Late last year a poll put the public's trust in Zaluzhnyi at over 90 per cent — significantly higher than Zelenskyy's 77 per cent.

'New realities' for Ukraine: Zaluzhnyi

Under Zaluzhnyi's command, Ukrainian forces rebuffed Russia's initial assault on Kyiv and reclaimed swathes of territory in 2022. But the battlefield momentum turned against Ukraine last year as a much-vaunted counteroffensive proved unable to break through heavily defended Russian lines.

Russia has since ramped up offensive pressure on the eastern front, trying to cut off and encircle the town of Avdiivka.

Zelenskyy indicated it was last year's setback that underpinned his decision to replace Zaluzhnyi.

"In the second year of this war, we won the Black Sea. We won the winter. We proved that we can regain control over the Ukrainian sky. But, unfortunately, we could not achieve the goals of our state on the ground."

The military shakeup unfolded over a series of statements in which Zelenskyy said he had met Zaluzhnyi to discuss changes to the military leadership, adding that he'd asked the general to remain "on his team."

In his own statement, Zaluzhnyi said he had met Zelenskyy for an "important and serious conversation" and that a decision had been made to change battlefield tactics and strategy.

"The tasks of 2022 are different from the tasks of 2024. Therefore, everyone must change and adapt to new realities as well. To win together too," his statement said.

The two statements were published within moments of one another, suggesting that the two most prominent wartime figures in Ukraine had co-ordinated closely to put on a display of unity.

Neither Zelenskyy nor Zaluzhnyi provided any detail about what the new strategy might entail.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said Ukraine needed a rethink of its tactics, "which did not fully ensure proper results last year."

Ukraine needs to "prevent stagnation on the front line, which negatively affects public sentiment, to find new functional and high-tech solutions that will allow (Ukraine) to retain and develop the initiative," he said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

As ground commander, the new army chief Syrskyi is also closely associated both with Ukraine's initial successes and its more recent setbacks. In an interview with Reuters last month, he signalled the importance of rotating out exhausted troops who have been under near-constant artillery fire.

"Our task and...one of the reasons for the attention on mobilization is the timely replenishment of those units that are head for replacement," he said.