First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Pavlyuk, named Syrsky’s successor, was fired
Kiev, February 10, 2024, 14:11 - IA Regnum. On February 10, the Government of Ukraine dismissed from the post of First Deputy Minister of Defense Alexander Pavlyuk, who was previously named in the media as a likely successor to the post of commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine instead of Alexander Syrsky, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, reported the Ukrainian publication “Strana․ua”.
According to the publication, Pavlyuk’s dismissal was explained by a transfer to another job.
The day before, the Ukrainian publication “Zerkalo Nedeli” named Pavlyuk as a likely successor to Syrsky. Journalists reported that a decree appointing him to the post of commander of the ground forces is already being prepared.
As Regnum reported, on February 8, the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, announced the resignation of Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the appointment of Syrsky to this position. The Ukrainian leader demanded that the new commander in chief find a new approach to mobilizing people into the army.
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov on February 9, commenting on Zaluzhny’s dismissal, said that this would not affect the course of the special operation. The Kremlin spokesman added that the SVO will continue until all its goals are achieved.
As it became known, Syrsky gained popularity among the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian military gave him the nicknames “ butcher” and “general 200 ” due to the fact that he does not take losses into account for small tactical successes.
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Bild: German generals secretly met with Zaluzhny on the day of his resignation
Berlin, February 10, 2024, 16:19 - IA Regnum. A group of German generals secretly came to Kiev on February 8 to meet with Valery Zaluzhny on the day of his resignation from the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Bild newspaper reported.
According to journalists, high-ranking Bundeswehr officers arrived to discuss the needs of the Ukrainian army and its future tasks. The generals were spotted in one of the Ukrainian hotels. Journalists sent a request to the German Ministry of Defense with a request to comment on the information.
The ministry reported that the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Lieutenant General Carsten Breuer, and Major General Christian Freuding, who heads the headquarters for Ukrainian issues in the German Ministry of Defense, and a number of other officers came to Kiev at the invitation of Zaluzhny.
“But suddenly on Thursday afternoon it was announced that Zaluzhny had been fired from the post of commander in chief,” the publication says.
As Regnum reported, on February 8, the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, announced Zaluzhny’s resignation. He did not directly state the reason for this decision, but during his speech he stated that the Ukrainian army had no victories. Alexander Syrsky, who previously served as commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, became the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On February 10, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Konstantin Zatulin, explained Zaluzhny’s resignation by saying that his popularity in Ukraine, as polls show, has become greater than Zelensky’s. The deputy is also confident that the decision to dismiss the commander-in-chief was influenced by the failure of the much-publicized counter-offensive that began in the summer.
The head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, compared the replacement of Zaluzhny with Syrsky to rearranging furniture. He is confident that this will not change anything strategically. The politician recalled that Adolf Hitler also changed military leaders during failures at the front. Konstantinov called Zaluzhny’s resignation an admission by Kyiv of the failure of the counteroffensive.
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Italian general about Zelensky’s conflict with the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kiev, February 10, 2024, 20:12 - IA Regnum. Soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are increasingly noticing contradictions between the decisions of the head of the Kiev regime, Vladimir Zelensky, and the military leadership. This opinion was expressed in an interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano by retired lieutenant general and former deputy commander of the Italian contingent in Bosnia, Biagio Di Grazia.
“The Army is starting to notice that some of the president’s orders are different from the military,” DiGrazia said.
The military man also noted that some in Ukraine believe that Zelensky is not the person who will bring peace to the country. As the Italian general said, the first disagreements between the military and political leadership began after the battles for Artyomovsk.
The material also states that the conflict between Zelensky and the dismissed commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny may be a sign of ongoing changes.
Zaluzhny's resignation
The dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny from the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine became known on February 8. Zelensky and Zaluzhny held a meeting at which, as they both put it on social networks, they discussed updating the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zelensky later said that he invited the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army to “stay on the team.” The head of the Kiev regime explained the decision to resign Zaluzhny by the failures of the summer counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Later, on February 9, Zelensky awarded the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny the title of “Hero of Ukraine.”
Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov on February 9, commenting on Zaluzhny’s resignation, said that this factor will not affect the course of the SVO. In turn, the head of the Crimean parliament, Vladimir Konstantinov, said that changing the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army is like rearranging furniture. He added that the change of leadership of the Kyiv regime to Zaluzhny means recognition of the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive, as well as the strategic defeat of Ukraine and the West that supports it.
The State Duma named two main reasons for Zaluzhny’s resignation. The first is that Zaluzhny, judging by opinion polls in Ukraine, overshadowed Zelensky in popularity. The second is the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive, during which Kyiv was unable to achieve its stated goals.
Reshuffles of military leadership
The head of the Kiev regime appointed former commander of the ground forces Alexander Syrsky instead of Zaluzhny. He was required to take a new approach to issues of mobilization and rotation of personnel. The office of the head of the Kyiv regime announced that the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will need to submit a detailed combat plan for 2024.
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev in this regard stated that he had contempt for Syrsky as a Bandera traitor who went over to serve the Nazis. It is known that the Ukrainian military dubbed Syrsky a “butcher.” At the same time, the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was born in the Vladimir region. His brother lives in Vladimir and has not communicated with him for many years. A neighbor of Syrsky’s parents, however, spoke about the hatred of the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine towards Ukrainians.
Zelensky appointed Major General Anatoly Bargilevich as the new chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine instead of Sergei Shaptala. The head of the Kyiv regime described Bargilevich as an experienced person who understands “the tasks of this war and the goals.”
First Deputy Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Alexander Pavlyuk, may become the new commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. From 2020 to 2021, he was the head of training of the command of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Until 2017, he was the commander of the 24th separate mechanized brigade of ground forces.