According to MailOnline, Rustem Umerov said the decision was taken on Thursday to change the military leadership, which comes as Zelensky aims to crack down on corruption - and keep a steady stream of military aid flowing in from Western partners.
Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky has removed the country head of armed forces “Iron General” Valery Zaluzhny, the ministry of defence said, after weeks of rumours that the President was planning a major shakeup of top military brass
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According to MailOnline, Rustem Umerov said the decision was taken on Thursday to change the military leadership, which comes as Zelensky aims to crack down on corruption - and keep a steady stream of military aid flowing in from Western partners.
“The war does not remain the same. War changes and demands change. New approaches and new strategies are needed... I am sincerely grateful to Valery Fedorovych (Zaluzhny) for all his achievements and victories.”
Zaluzhny, who has led Kyiv's forces throughout Russia's invasion and is known as the 'Iron General', is said to have fallen out with Zelensky over differing opinions on how to boost numbers in the army, which is struggling to fill its ranks.
Zelensky also reportedly took umbrage with an interview given by Zaluzhny to The Economist in which he admitted the fight had ground to a stalemate - something the Ukrainian President fears could turn EU chiefs off the idea of sending more aid.
The now-former commander-in-chief acknowledged Zelensky's decision in a brief statement.
“The tasks of 2022 are different from those of 2024. Therefore, everyone must change and adapt to the new realities as well. In order to win together,” he said.
Zaluzhny was replaced by the commander of Ukraine's ground forces Oleksandr Syrsky, who is said to have a close relationship with Zelensky.
Amid feverish speculation in the media, Zelensky earlier this week said that he was preparing a massive reshuffle to 'restart' the country's leadership, including in the armed forces, with the frontline static and Ukraine's highly anticipated counteroffensive last year largely failing to budge Russia's lines of defence.
On the frontlines in Ukraine's east, where Russia's army is relentlessly pressing against outmanned Ukrainian soldiers in several points, the exhausted troops have little patience for personnel clashes in Kyiv's halls of power.
Seeking to justify the decision, Zelensky today posted on social media: “A realistic, detailed action plan for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for 2024 should be on the table. Taking into account the real situation on the battlefield now and the prospects.”
He added that he'd invited Zaluzhny to remain part of the military decision-making structure.
But Ukrainian soldiers speaking to reporters just days ago expressed a distinctly negative view of Zaluzhny's sacking.
“Replacing the commander during fighting, especially when they are so intense in our area, is not appropriate,' an army medic with the call name 'Beria' deployed in the Donetsk region told reporters.
“I would sooner replace the president,” the 25-year-old said.
Another soldier, 'Kit', said the rumours of Zaluzhny's firing irritated him, especially since Zelensky has never publicly said what Zaluzhny had done to displease him.
Both men played key roles when Russia sent troops against an outmanned and outgunned Ukraine on February 24, 2022, when most of the world expected Moscow's military to easily roll over its smaller neighbour.