Ukraine President Fires Top Commander As Losses Mount
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
KYIV/BUDAPEST (Worthy News) – Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has fired his top army commander, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, as hundreds of thousands of troops have been killed and injured as battlefields increasingly resemble the trenches of World War One.
Thursday’s announcement marked wartorn Ukraine’s largest military shake-up since Russia’s full-scale invasion began nearly two years ago.
The two men met on Thursday, after which Zelenskyy posted a joint photograph thanking Zaluzhnyi for his service but outlining the need for “renewal” in the armed forces.
The time for such a renewal is now. I proposed to General Zaluzhnyi to remain part of the team,” he added.
Yet critics say the decision to push ahead with the dismissal is a risky move for Zelenskyy, given Zaluzhnyi’s high approval ratings among Ukrainians.
However, supporters of the move say the man Zelenskyy named Thursday to lead the country’s military played a vital role in some of Ukraine’s most significant victories in its war with Russia.
DEFENDING CAPITAL
Those victories included overseeing the successful defense of Kyiv, the capital, in the early days of the invasion.
Yet Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who had been commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, takes over the head job at a challenging time.
With the war poised to enter its third year, morale is low, the military is facing shortages of ammunition and personnel, and Kyiv is struggling to maintain support from the West.
Footage has also emerged of men being forced to go with armed men after they declined to be mobilized for the army.
Zelenskyy is also trying to reach many of the millions of refugees who fled his nation to report for duty for a war with an increasingly uncertain outcome.