Change of commander signals new direction for AFU — Southern Defense Forces
The change of commander marks a certain shift in directions, Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said on national television on Feb. 9, commenting on Valerii Zaluzhnyi stepping down as the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
It is also a change in “certain resources, certain understandings,” Humeniuk said.
“Most importantly, the goal does not change."
Humeniuk stressed that Ukraine’s goal is “our victory, and we will achieve it."
The possible removal of Zaluzhnyi from his position as Armed Forces Chief was first reported by various Ukrainian media on Jan. 29.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's spokesperson Serhiy Nykyforov dismissed these reports, and the President did not mention Zaluzhnyi's resignation in his Jan. 29 evening address.
Zelenskyy had planned to fire the Armed Forces commander but reconsidered after the information leaked to the media, the New York Times reported.
The potential dismissal stemmed from disagreements over mobilization strategies in Ukraine, The Washington Post reported.
Zaluzhnyi was offered the position of Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council but declined, The Economist reported.
Zaluzhnyi published an article outlining a strategy to help Ukraine gain the initiative on the battlefield on CNN on Feb. 1. Zaluzhnyi wrote about the incapacity of Ukrainian state institutions to improve the defense forces' staffing without unpopular measures and weaknesses in the manufacturing sector that make Ukraine more dependent on ammunition supplies from partners.
Zaluzhnyi had served in the role since July 2021 and had enjoyed massive popularity and support from the public for his role in defending against the Russian invasion. According to a late December 2023 survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, Zaluzhnyi is trusted by 88% of Ukrainians, Zelenskyy by 62%.
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