Military Madness > The Ukraine Version; Ukraine running out of soldiers

 

Zelensky fires Armed Forces Commander in Chief

Valerii Zaluzhnyi

By Patrick Hilsman

   

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday that he has fired Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Photo courtesy of Volodymyr Zelensky

Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday fired the nation's top military commander.

Zelensky announced Thursday that Armed Forces Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi (was dismissed) from his post and replaced with Colonel-General Oleksander Syrskyi.

"Today I have decided to renew the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is not about surnames, and certainly not about politics," Zelensky said in an address to the nation Thursday, "this is about the system of our army, about management."

Which means it's really about mismanagement!

He said along with the new commander "a new management team will take over leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

"2024 can become successful for Ukraine only through effective changes in the basis of our defense, which is the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Zelensky continued. "We are all proud of our army and we must do everything in our power to ensure that the Ukrainian army becomes a victorious army."

Zelensky suggested that Zaluzhnyi, a seasoned general could still play an important role in future military planning.

"We also discussed who could be part of the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces Ukraine. The time for such a renewal is now. I proposed to General Zaluzhnyi to remain part of the team," Zelensky posted on X Thursday along with a photo of him and Zaluzhnyi posing for a photo.

Speculation of Zaluzhnyi's dismissal has been brewing in international and local media for weeks as Zelensky tries to shake up military leadership amidst a stagnating counteroffensive.

In August, Zelensky replaced the heads of military recruitment amidst corruption allegations and in September, Zelensky sacked his war cabinet, including then-Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov.

Corruption is a major player in the Ukrainian military, as in many militaries.

I am unable to format this story for this blog, so here is a glimpse and a link to the WaPo story. 

Front-line Ukrainian infantry units report 

acute shortage of soldiers

By Isabelle Khurshudyan and 

Anastacia Galouchka

Updated February 8, 2024 

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military is facing a critical shortage of infantry, 

leading to exhaustion and diminished morale on the front line, military personnel in the field 

said this week — a perilous new dynamic for Kyiv nearly two years into the grinding, bloody 

war with Russia.

In interviews across the front line in recent days, nearly a dozen soldiers and commanders 

told The Washington Post that personnel deficits were their most critical problem now, 

as Russia has regained the offensive initiative on the battlefield and is stepping up its attacks.

One battalion commander in a mechanized brigade fighting in eastern Ukraine said that his unit

currently has fewer than 40 infantry troops — the soldiers deployed in front-line trenches who 

hold off Russian assaults. A fully equipped battalion would have more than 200, the commander said.

Another commander in an infantry battalion of a different brigade said his unit is similarly depleted.

The soldiers interviewed spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized 

to speak publicly and could face retribution for their comments.

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