Brigadier-General Andriy Hnatov replaced Lieutenant-General Yuri Sodol, who had assumed the role in February.

Zelenskyy announced the decision following a meeting with the military leadership.

“There was a morning meeting with the military. The Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of the General Staff, and the Minister of Defense were present. We discussed the situation in key areas … We also discussed personnel issues within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I decided to replace the Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Yuriy Sodol, with Brigadier General Andriy Hnatov,” Zelenskyy said during his nightly video address.

Today, we achieved several significant milestones in our partnerships. Malawi joined the Peace Summit communiqué, increasing Africa's representation in global efforts for peace. More countries and leaders supporting Ukraine means greater pressure on Russia to end its criminal… pic.twitter.com/f9cevMqGs4

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 24, 2024

The change in command comes following a series of reports suggesting that Sodol had performed badly in Ukraine’s more than two-year-old war against Russian invaders.