Zelenskyy continues revamp of Ukraine top army brass

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued his reorganization of the top leadership of the country's armed forces, which last week saw the removal of Valery Zaluzhny as the country's commander-in-chief.

"We continue to reboot the management team in the Armed Forces," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Saturday, later quoted on his official Telegram channel.

Colonels Vadym Sukharevskyi and Andriy Lebedenko have been appointed "deputies of Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi," said Zelenskyy. Both have been deeply involved with technological developments in the Ukrainian army, such as the use of drones on the battlefield.

"Clear practice with new technologies is needed," said Zelenskyy on the merits of the two colonels.

Brigadier Generals Volodymyr Horbatiuk, Oleksiy Shevchenko and Mykhailo Drapatyi have all three been appointed as "deputies of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the president said.

The slew of new appointments is part of a broader shake-up in the Ukrainian military in the wake of the underwhelming summer and autumn offensive by Ukrainian forces.

“If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory — we cannot be discouraged, let ourselves down — we must have the right positive energy,” Zelenskyy told Italian website RaiNews days before he fired Zaluzhny.

He later added on Telegram that the "year 2024 can be successful for Ukraine only if there are effective changes in the basis of our defense."