Ukraine’s president has announced that the country’s former top general is to become the new ambassador to the United Kingdom.
President Volodymyr Zelensky last month dismissed Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who had been commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, in a move aimed at regaining momentum in the war against Russia.
“Our alliance with Britain should only strengthen,” Mr Zelensky said.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, last month Mr Zelensky thanked Mr Zaluzhnyi for his two years of service.
He then appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, to lead the army. Colonel General Syrskyi, 58, has been involved in the Ukrainian army’s effort to adopt Nato standards since 2013.
In a Telegram message, Mr Zaluzhnyi did not announce he had stepped down but said he accepted that “everyone must change and adapt to new realities” and agreed that there is a “need to change approaches and strategy” in the war.
The move followed days of speculation spurred by local media reports that Mr Zelensky would sack Mr Zaluzhnyi, who was highly regarded by his troops and by foreign military officials.
Some analysts warned that Mr Zaluzhnyi’s exit could bring unwelcome disruption, potentially driving a wedge between the Ukrainian army and politicians, and fuelling uncertainty among Kyiv’s Western allies.
Born into a family of Soviet servicemen, he is credited with modernising the Ukrainian army along Nato lines. He took charge seven months before Russia’s full-scale invasion.
He earned broad public support after the successful defence of Kyiv in the early days of the war, followed by a triumphant counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region and the liberation of Kherson.
“We are on our land and we will not give it up,” Mr Zaluzhnyi said on the first day of the war.
Retired Australian major general Mick Ryan, a fellow of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, described him as “a charismatic and popular military leader” who would be hard to replace.
His replacement will have to build personal relationships with US and Nato military chiefs while the perception of government instability “is a real danger area for” Mr Zelensky, Mr Ryan wrote recently in an article posted online.