Zelensky officially dismisses Joint Forces Commander Andrii Hnatov, now serving in General Staff

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Feb. 26 officially dismissed Brigadier General Andrii Hnatov as commander of the Joint Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, after appointing him deputy chief of the General Staff in January.

Hnatov has held the position since June 26, 2024, replacing Yurii Sodol.

In late January, Zelensky announced that Hnatov would be sent to the General Staff to serve as a deputy chief, saying, "his task is a new level of training of operational headquarters and a higher quality of interaction between the headquarters and the front."

"We discussed these and some other changes with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky," add that "tasks have been set at all levels," the president said at the time.

While holding the position of Joint Forces commander, Hnatov also served as the commander of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group.

When announcing Hnatov would be moved to the General Staff in January, Zelensky appointed Major General Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, to lead the Khortytsia operational-strategic group.

Hnatov previously served as the deputy commander of the Southern Operational Command.

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