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The Ukrainian Defence Ministry denied media reports that Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi had been dismissed as head of the armed forces amid stalemate in the war with Russia.
“Dear journalists, we answer everyone at the same time: this is not true,” the ministry announced on Telegram on Monday.
Ukrainian media had widely reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky had sacked the commander, but a corresponding decree has not been published.
Zelensky’s spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov also denied the reports.

“This is not the subject of discussion,” he said, according to the Ukrainian news agency Interfax-Ukraine.
The 50-year-old Zaluzhnyi became commander-in-chief a few months before the Russian invasion in February 2022. Under his command, the Ukrainian troops withstood the invasion and even recaptured occupied territories before efforts stalled.
Seeking Western support, Zelensky warns of World War 3 risk
The general has been popular with his soldiers and the population. He was even rumoured to have political ambitions, which he denied.
But all is not well in the Ukrainian military.
After complaints from some soldiers fighting on the eastern front about shortcomings in equipment, supplies and food, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has admitted to certain failures.
“Many violations” were registered during unplanned inspections, the minister announced on Facebook.
Food supplies were also inspected. According to Umerov, provisions worth more than €1.2 million (US$1.3 million) were missing and had not been delivered.
“We are recording the offences and dealing with each case individually,” Umerov wrote.

The supplier of some military units had recently been changed due to the incidents, he said.
The surprise checks – in which the secret services and other security organizations are also involved – will continue, he added.
There have recently been several corruption scandals linked to the ministry and the armed forces.
The defence minister mentioned a fraud that had been uncovered within the ministry, in which former and current officials had embezzled some US$40 million for the procurement of artillery ammunition. In the event, the sum was returned, Umerov stated.
Ukraine, which aspires to join Nato and the European Union, has been defending itself against an all-out Russian invasion with massive Western financial and military aid for nearly two years.
Zelensky dismissed the long-time former defence minister Oleksii Reznikov and other defence ministry deputies in September.

After taking up his new position, Umerov announced he would clean up the system.
But Russia is also experiencing huge difficulties in the war it started.
Moscow has lost around 2,600 battle tanks since it attacked Ukraine, the British Defence Ministry believes.
Some 4,900 other armoured combat vehicles were destroyed in the 23 months up to January 25, the ministry said, citing intelligence information.
Ukraine says it destroyed 2 prized Russian command aircraft
Last year, Russia lost around 40 per cent fewer vehicles than in 2022. This is probably because the war in 2023 was much more static and the Russian units acted more defensively for most of the year, London added.
Since October though, Russia has been on the offensive again in eastern Ukraine. Russian losses have therefore increased to probably up to 365 tanks and 700 combat vehicles. However, Russia has only achieved minor territorial gains, the British ministry statement said.
At the same time, the statement emphasised that Russia can probably produce at least 100 tanks a month and therefore has the ability to compensate for losses on the battlefield and continue the offensive for the foreseeable future.
Britain has regularly published information on the course of the war based on intelligence reports. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.


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Ukraine war

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Ukrainian service members fire a L119 howitzer near the frontline town of Marinka, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photo: Reuters

Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi and other defence leaders. Photo: Ministry of Defence of Ukraine via Reuters

Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Photo: dpa

A destroyed tank in a field outside the town of Izium, Kharkiv region. Photo: AFP

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. File photo: AP

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The wreckage of a Russian Il-76 is seen near Yablonovo, in the Belgorod region of Russia on Thursday. Photo: Russian Investigative Committee via AP

A video is said to show buses parked to load Ukrainian POWs on board a Russian military Il-76 plane. Photo: Russian Investigative Committee via AP

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Ukraine says it destroyed a Russian A-50 spy plane and Il-22 command aircraft

A Russian Beriev A-50 airborne early warning and control plane. Photo: AP

Ukrainian army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. Photo: dpa

A missile explodes over Kyiv, Ukraine during a Russian attack on December 29, 2023. Photo: Reuters

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Javelin missiles provided by the US to Ukraine in 2022. File photo: AFP

A Ukrainian serviceman with a ‘Stinger’ anti-aircraft weapon in the Black Sea. Photo: AFP

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Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi has led Ukrainian armed forces through nearly two years of war
Ukrainian media widely reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky had sacked the popular commander


Ukrainian media had widely reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky had sacked Valerii Zaluzhnyi as head of the armed forces amid stalemate in the war with Russia.


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Russia

War and conflict