Media: Defense Ministry considering dismissal of 3 commanders.
The Defense Ministry is considering potential dismissal of three commanders within Ukraine's Armed Forces, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Nov.
13, citing unnamed sources in the country's military and political leadership. According to the sources, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov is preparing requests to dismiss Medical Forces Commander Tetiana Ostashchenko, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria Group, and Joint Forces Commander Serhii Naiev. Ukrainian paramedics and volunteers have reportedly called on the country's leadership to fire Ostashchenko.
In July, lawmaker Solomiia Bobrovska said that the Medical Forces Command hadn't purchased any first aid kits in 2023, and those provided through international aid were not properly checked. The reasons for the possible dismissal of Tarnavskyi, who commands troops on the southern front line, and Naiev are unknown, Ukrainska Pravda wrote. Serhii Nikiforov, a spokesperson for the Presidential Office, told Ukrainska Pravda that the office would announce the dismissals on its website if such decisions are approved.
Southern counteroffensive runs out of steam as West scrambles to deliver aid
As fall weather arrives, observers are looking at the status of Ukraine's three-pronged counteroffensive, which continues to move very slowly. Ukrainian forces have yet to fully break through Russia's defensive lines and fight to their target cities -- Tokmak, Berdiansk, and Vasylivka. Their tempo i...
Meanwhile, one of the media outlet's sources said the discussions on firing the three commanders have been ongoing for months.
The Defense Ministry hasn't yet commented on the report. Earlier in November, Zelensky dismissed General Viktor Khorenko from his role as the Special Operations Forces (SOF) commander at Umerov's request, replacing him with Serhii Lupanchuk. The replacement caused confusion between the Defense Ministry and the Armed Forces as Khorenko said he learned about his dismissal from the media and was surprised.
The dismissal of Khorenko comes after Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi published an op-ed with a sobering outlook on the state of the war. Zelensky's administration criticized Zaluzhnyi's comments in the press, alleging he went too far in disclosing battlefield information to the public.
Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine must escape from 'trap' of prolonged war Ukraine needs specific support from the West now that the war is in danger of moving to a "positional" stage, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, wrote in an opinion piece for the Economist on Nov.
1.
