Meet the new Ukrainian commanders tasked with defeating Russia

On February 8th, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky removed Valerii Zaluzhny as the country’s Commander-in-Chief and replaced him with Oleksandr Syrskyi. However, Zaluzhny was not the only big replacement Zelesnky made. 

Several other Ukrainian commanders have been promoted up the ranks by Zelensky as part of his mission to reboot the country’s military leadership. Many of these new people were introduced by Zelensky in a post on February 10th.  

Following meetings with his new military leadership and the government, Zelensky took to Telegram and Twitter to introduce the commanders who were taking over key roles in the war. These were mostly men already known to the country. 

Photo Credit: Telegram V_Zelenskiy_Official

“Now, people who are well-known in the army and who themselves know well what the army needs are taking on new responsibilities. Combat commanders of this war, whose experience will be useful at the all-army level,” Zelensky wrote. 

Photo Credit: Telegram V_Zelenskiy_Official

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, now in charge of the development of Ukraine's unnamed systems and their utilization by the country’s soldiers, and Colonel Andriy Lebedenko, in charge of Ukraine's military technology, were made Syrskyi’s deputies. 

Sukharevskyi is a former trooper of the 80th Air Assault Brigade according to Kyiv Post and he was a staff officer of a marine unit before being appointed in March 2022 as commander of the 59th Motorized Brigade following encounters with Russian troops.

Photo Credit: Telegram V_Zelenskiy_Official

Lebedenko is relatively unknown but his new position may be one of the most important on Zelensky’s new team since he will be responsible for innovating combat systems. “Clear practice with new technologies is needed,” Zelensky explained. 

Brigadier General Volodymyr Horbatiuk has been tasked by Zelensky with reorganizing how the Ukrainian Armed Forces and its command staff understand the front, something Zelensky wants every General Staff member to understand. 

Brigadier General Oleksiy Shevchenko will take over logistics to ensure the “maximum quality of logistics in our army” according to Zelensky, what this actually means was not made clear but revamping Ukraine's logistics could be key to the conflict. 

Brigadier General Mykhailo Drapatyi is now in charge of the overall training of Ukraine's armed forces. This was a key issue that was raised by Colonel General Syrskyi after he was made Commander-in-Chief following the dismissal of Zaluzhny. 

“The life and health of servicemen have always been and are the main value of the Ukrainian army,” Syrskyi wrote on Telegram according to a translation from Politico.

“Therefore, maintaining a balance between the performance of combat tasks and the restoration of units and units with the intensification of training and training of personnel remains more relevant than ever,” Syrskyi added. 

Kyiv Post noted Drapatyi has commanded Joint Forces Kherson since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that his first job was to maintain the country’s lines of defense following the Russian breakthrough from Crimea. 

“All the real-life experience of combat commanders, combat brigades, our units, who have built a quality training system for soldiers and evaluation and analysis of combat actions – all this experience must be implemented for the success,” Zelensky said.

Photo Credit: Telegram V_Zelenskiy_Official

Not included in Zelensky’s message was the promotion of General Yuriy Sodol as the new Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Sodol replaced  General Serhiy Naiev and has been the commander of Ukraine's marines since 2018. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Міністерство оборони України, CC BY 4.0

Zelensky also appointed a new commander of its Ground Forces. Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraine's deputy defense minister since February 2023 according to The Kyiv Independent, has taken over the position.  

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Київська ОВА - ПАВЛЮК Олександр Олексійович, CC BY 4.0

Airborne Assault Commander Maksym Myrhorodskyi was dismissed by Zelensky and replaced by Brigadier General Ihor Skibiuk, who The Kyiv Independent said had “served as the deputy for this post and commanded the 80th Air Assault Brigade.”

One controversial promotion was that of Major General Ihor Plahuta, who served as the commander of the Separate Presidential Brigade but was appointed to head up the Territorial Defense Forces. However, his past is quite checkered. 

Ukrainska Pravda reported that Plahuta led 400 troops and a special detachment of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2013 that was responsible for the dispersal of Euromaidan protestors in Kyiv. 

How Zelensky’s sweeping military leadership changes will affect the war is still unclear but one analyst told the  Wall Street Journal that the move will bind Zelensky to the war’s battlefield decisions and make him more accountable for any failures. 

“Zelensky took responsibility for everything now—both the political and military side,” said independent Ukrainian political analyst Mykola Davydiuk. This could prove to be one of the best decisions Zelensky made during the conflict, or one of his worst.