“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.”