UPDATE 2 - Oleksandr Syrskyi appointed as Ukraine’s new army chief

REVISES HEADLINE, DECK AND LEDE; ADDS LATEST INFORMATION; EDITS THROUGHOUT

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Ukraine appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, as the new Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces on Thursday, replacing Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who has been the focus of media speculation about plans to remove him from his post.

"Today I have decided to renew the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This is not about surnames. And certainly not about politics. This is about the system of our army, about management in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and about attracting the experience of battlefield commanders of this war," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an evening address.

Noting that he met with Zaluzhnyi during the day, Zelenskyy said he thanked him for his work as Ukraine's commander-in-chief over the past two years and pointed out that they had a discussion about "urgent changes" needed in the Ukrainian army.

Zelenskyy further said that he offered Zaluzhnyi the option to continue to be part of his team and that he would be "grateful for his consent."

He added that Syrskyi will present a team for "resetting the Armed Forces of Ukraine" in the coming days.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also confirmed Zaluzhnyi's dismissal, saying: "New approaches, new strategies are needed."

"Today, a decision was made on the need to change the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I am sincerely grateful to Valerii Fedorovych (Zaluzhnyi) for all his achievements and victories," Umerov added.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on X that the decision is conditioned by "the need to review the tactics of action, which did not fully ensure proper results last year," as well other matters including preventing "stagnation" on the front line, which he said "negatively affects public sentiment."

The decrees for Zaluzhnyi's dismissal and Syrskyi's appointment were later posted on the Ukrainian presidency's website.

Earlier this week, Zelenskyy declared the need for a “reset” in the country’s leadership, increasing speculation over the sacking of Zaluzhnyi in the biggest shake-up of the military command since Russia’s “special military operation” began two years ago.

*Emre Basaran and Burc Eruygur contributed to this story from Istanbul