Ukraine has dismissed one of its most important commanders

It has been over one week since Volodymyr Zelensky quietly removed the Commander of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation and the world is still waiting to find out why. 

On February 26th, Zelensky dismissed the senior military commander who was by-in-large responsible for managing large portions of the ongoing situation in Ukraine’s Eastern Oblasts. 

“​​In a one-line decree,” wrote Reuters reporter David Ljunggren, “Zelenskiy announced the dismissal of Eduard Moskalyov as commander of the joint forces of Ukraine."

Photo by Twitter @igorsushko

The decree to remove Major General Moskalyov was dated February 26th and read: “Dismiss Eduard Mykhailovych MOSKALOV from the post of commander of the Joint Forces.” according to a translation by Anastasia Pechenyuk of Ukraine Today. 

David Ljunggren added that Moskalyov was responsible for many of the combat units “engaged in battles in the Donbas region,” an area that includes Bakhmut. 

No reasons were given by Zelensky for Moskalyov’s dismissal according to Ljunggren, who also noted that even the Joint Force’s Facebook page didn’t address the removal.

The Hill’s Lauren Sforza pointed out that Moskalyov’s removal as Commander of Joint Forces Operation came amid a flurry of position changes following a corruption scandal.

Photo by Twitter @hdevreij

“Moskalyov’s dismissal is the latest in a series of changes to Ukraine’s military amid a corruption scandal that nearly ousted Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov,” Sforza wrote. 

“It’s not clear if Moskalyov’s dismissal was connected to corruption fallout," Sforza added, and it appears as if we won’t be finding out anytime soon. 

Photo by Twitter @toot5000

Major General Eduard Moskalyov was appointed to head Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation in early March 2022 after the organization’s previous commander, Oleksandr Pavliuk, was made head of Kyiv’s Military Administration according to CNN. 

“A few days after his appointment,” wrote Anastasia Pechenyuk, “President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded [Moskalyov] the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky II degree."

The Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky is only given to those who demonstrate “exceptional duty in defense of state sovereignty and state security,” according to Wikipedia. 

Major General Moskalyov’s dismissal came at a time when Russia’s renewed offensive was beginning to pick up steam all across Ukraine’s eastern front. 

On February 25th, Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his mercenaries had captured the settlement of Yahidne, a town only 2 kilometers from Bakhmut and one of the last defensive positions before the city according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Neither the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces nor President Zelensky have publicly announced a replacement for Moskalyov, even though such a shakeup at the top of the command structure is an indication that things aren't going well in the east. 

Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation was established in 2014 as a response to Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula according to the Jerusalem Post. 

“The Joint Forces of Ukraine… has been a significant part of the Ukrainian forces fighting against Russia in the war that began a year ago with Russia's invasion of Ukraine,” the Jearuselum Post added.