Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed his Deputy Defence Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk to be the new commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces.
Pavliuk, whose appointment was announced in a presidential decree published on Sunday, had been relieved of his duties as deputy defence minister on Saturday in anticipation of his “move to a new job,” a representative of Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers said on Telegram.
Pavliuk replaces Oleksandr Syrskyi in the role, following his appointment as the new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Thursday.
Alexander Pavliuk with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky. Photo: Presidential Administration
Pavliuk, who has served as Ukraine’s deputy defence minister since February, was previously governor of the Kyiv region and deputy commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces. He was also the commander of Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operation in Donbas when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Pavliuk’s appointment comes as part of a wider reshuffle of Ukraine’s top brass following the dismissal of Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi on Thursday in what Zelensky described as a “time for renewal.”
In other decrees Zelensky issued on Saturday, he appointed Yuriy Sodol as commander of the Joint Forces, Ihor Skybiuk as commander of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, and Ihor Plakhuta as commander of the Territorial Defence Forces.
