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Zelensky not considering replacing Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi amid government reshuffle

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Zelensky not considering replacing Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi amid government reshuffle
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi attends a meeting of Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umierov with former U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 21, 2024. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters on Jan. 3 that he is not considering replacing Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi at this time amid a wider government reshuffle.

Zelensky's comments come after his Jan. 2 announcement of major political shake-up, with changes to several key portfolios.

Zelensky told reporters that his government "reboot" applies to various institutions, including Ukraine's Armed Forces, but added that "replacing the commander-in-chief is not envisaged at this time."

"Next, after the defense sector has been reset, I will move on to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But to get to that point, I need to be sure that everything else has been reset and everything else is functioning,” Zelensky added, without specifying additional anticipated changes.

Among lower-level changes, Kyrylo Budanov, the military intelligence chief, was appointed as the new head of the President's Office, while Oleh Ivashchenko, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service, assumed Budanov's former role.

Similarly, Mykhailo Fedorov, the current deputy prime minister and digital transformation minister was proposed as as the country's new defense minister, while current Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal is slated to take over the vacant energy minister portfolio.

Additionally, Zelensky announced on Jan. 3 that his team was finalizing a list of new heads for Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk and Chernivtsi oblasts.

Syrskyi has been serving in his role as commander-in-chief since February 2024, after replacing his predecesor Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

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Dmytro Basmat

Senior News Editor

Dmytro Basmat is a senior news editor for The Kyiv Independent. He previously worked in Canadian politics as a communications lead and spokesperson for a national political party, and as a communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Basmat has a Master's degree in Political Management from Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Governance from Toronto Metropolitan University.

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