President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced that Major General Ihor Skybiuk will become the new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The relevant decrees formalising the changes in the military leadership are expected to be prepared and issued today.
According to the president, he agreed on the next personnel and organisational steps together with the new Commander-in-Chief, Mykhailo Drapatyi, and Yevhenii Khmara.
“Major General Ihor Skybiuk will become the new Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a highly experienced military officer who defended Ukraine side by side with the new Commander-in-Chief,” Zelenskyy said.
The president stressed that all components of the Ukrainian military must continue to operate in complete coordination. He also said that decisions had been made on how Oleksandr Syrskyi and Andrii Hnatov would continue serving Ukraine’s defence.
The meeting also addressed the development of Ukraine’s cyber forces, military training, strengthening the capabilities of individual units and the further development of the corps-based structure.
Mobilisation was discussed separately. Zelenskyy described a practical and effective mobilisation process as one of the priorities for ensuring the Armed Forces’ ability to carry out defensive missions.
The president also thanked the Defence Forces for implementing the plan of long-range strikes against Russia and maintaining the pace of medium-range operations. According to him, Yevhenii Khmara is working to resolve supply issues for those strikes that were discussed with combat commanders and weapons manufacturers.
The participants analysed the current situation and the implementation of defence tasks in the Oleksandrivsk sector, in the Donetsk region and in other areas of intense fighting.
They also agreed on measures and personnel appointments intended to accelerate key air-defence initiatives. These include Ukraine’s Freya anti-ballistic programme, cooperation with the United States on licences to produce Patriot systems, and joint programmes with European partners.
Zelenskyy thanked Oleksandr Syrskyi and Andrii Hnatov, and wished Mykhailo Drapatyi and Ihor Skybiuk success in battle and victories for Ukraine.
