Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he fired Valerii Zaluzhnyi because the Armed Forces of Ukraine needed a partial overload to become faster and more technological.
In an interview, Zelenskyy explained why he fired Zaluzhnyi
Head of State Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that a reboot in the management of the top command of the Armed Forces was vital, but, at the same time, "we are not talking about rebooting the directions of action."
According to him, the need to change the command was due to the fact that "some things have not changed for a certain time."
We have to be more quick. That means to lose all the bureaucracy that we have. Otherwise, we will not have any chance. [We must] be smart, more technologically [equipped] and, of course, quick. Time is money, and in our case, it is not money; it's people, people's lives., — said the president.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
In addition, Zelenskyy denied that he dismissed Zaluzhnyi due to the existence of political competition.
This is his (Zaluzhnyi. — ed.) choice. He defended our country. And for that I awarded him this title (the Hero of Ukraine's star — ed.). I am very grateful to him, — added the head of state.
What is known about Valerii Zaluzhnyi's resignation
On February 8, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi dismissed Valeri Zaluzhnyi as an AFU Commander-in-Chief.
The President's Office noted that Zaluzhnyi's resignation was due to a number of reasons. In particular, this is the need to prevent stagnation on the front line, the need to find new functional and high-tech solutions, and the importance of starting the process of reforming management principles in the army.
The head of state appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi as the new AFU Commander-in-Chief.
The White House announced its readiness to work with the new commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. US Assistant Secretary of Defence Celeste Wallander called Syrskyi a successful commander and expressed readiness to work with him.
On February 9, Zelensky awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine to Zaluzhnyi and the chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Let. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov.
