This handout photograph taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on February 10, 2024 shows the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (C) with newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky (C-R) and Minister of Defence of Ukraine Rustem Umerov (C-L) with other military members during their counsel in Kyiv.Supplied/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced five senior military appointments on Saturday, filling out a rebooted team after he named Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi this week as the new armed forces chief. In his nightly video address, Zelensky said he spent the day meeting his military leadership and government and that experienced “combat commanders of this war” would be taking on new duties. The country is closing in on two years of war since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
As deputy chiefs of staff under Syrskyi, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi would take charge of unmanned systems and development of the use of drones by soldiers, while Colonel Andriy Lebedenko would focus on technological innovation of army and combat systems, Zelensky said.
Zelensky said he had also approved nominations of three brigadier-generals as deputies of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – Volodymyr Horbatyuk, who would run operations and management, Oleksiy Shevchenko, in charge of logistics, and Mykhailo Drapatyi on training.
“We continue the reboot of the management team,” Zelensky’s Telegram channel quoted him as saying in the address.
Syrskyi, previously commander of ground forces, was promoted on Thursday to overall command of Ukraine’s 800,000-strong armed forces. He later singled out drones and electronic warfare as examples of new technology that would help Ukraine achieve victory.
Ukraine has failed to recapture significant territory since late 2022 and faces a potential disruption in military aid supply from the United States, its biggest backer.