Zelenskyy Dismisses General Staff Chief, Joint Forces Operation Commander

KIEV (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 29th July, 2021) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the armed forces general staff chief, Serhiy Korniychuk, and the joint forces operation commander, Volodymyr Kravchenko, the presidential office said on Wednesday.

"President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decided to replace the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Commander of the Air Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Commander of the Joint Forces Operation. Accordingly, Serhiy Korniychuk, Yevhen Moysiuk and Volodymyr Kravchenko have been dismissed," the statement said.

The president appointed Serhiy Shaptala and Oleksandr Pavliuk as new chief of the general staff and commander of the joint forces operation, respectively, the office specified.

Zelenskyy drew the attention of military commanders at all levels to the need to intensify the modernization of the Ukrainian army, which "must be ready to perform tasks as effectively as possible in any conditions," the statement added.

The statement comes a day after Zelenskyy's decision to appoint Valery Zaluzhny, the commander of the "North" operational command as the new armed forces commander-in-chief.