Zelensky dismisses the commander of the Ukrainian joint forces

On Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree dismissing the commander of the army’s joint forces operation, which is taking part in the ongoing counter-offensive in the eastern Donbass region of the country.

Zelensky announced the dismissal of Eduard Moskalyov with a one-line decision without any explanation, according to Reuters. Moskalyov was appointed to this post last March.

The JFO began as a resistance force in 2014 after Russia seized Crimea and parts of Donbass, and has been heavily involved in the fighting since Moscow’s all-out invasion a year earlier.

Moskalyov’s dismissal is the latest in a series of changes in Ukraine’s military amid a corruption scandal that nearly brought down Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov. Reznikov remains in office, and earlier this month appointed three new deputies. It is not clear if Moskalyov’s dismissal was linked to corruption implications.

The war in Ukraine on Friday crossed the one-year mark, as Russian forces launched a new offensive earlier this month. Zelensky declared the year-long fight the “Year Invincible” in a speech last week.

Zelensky said last week that Ukraine would continue to defend the eastern city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Province which has seen months of brutal Russian attacks, but “not at any cost”.

President Biden visited Ukraine last week, ahead of a trip to Poland to give remarks about the year-old conflict between the two countries. In his speech, he reiterated the commitment of the United States and its allies to the eventual victory of Ukraine.