President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has named Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the former army chief who directed Ukraine’s defense during the first two years of Moscow’s full-fledged invasion, as the country’s ambassador to the United Kingdom.
According to reports, the directive was published on the presidential website.
Zaluzhnyi was previously dubbed a “Hero of Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, Ukraine hasn’t had an ambassador in London since Zelenskiy fired former envoy Vadym Prystaiko in July 2023 for publicly criticising the president.
Zaluzhnyi is well-known among Ukrainians for heading the army in the early hours of Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022, and for planning a counteroffensive that helped recapture large swathes of land taken by Moscow.
He was replaced in February by ground forces commander Oleksandr Syrskyi following battlefield setbacks and the failure of another counteroffensive to break through Russian defensive lines.
Additionally, Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal as army chief was the focal point of a shakeup of senior positions in Ukraine’s armed forces.
It followed weeks of tension and speculation about possible disagreements between the president and his top commander.
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