Zelensky sacks commander of Ukraine’s joint forces

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree Sunday removing the commander of the military’s Joint Forces Operation (JFO), which is involved in the ongoing counteroffensive in the eastern Donbas region of the country.

Zelensky announced Eduard Moskalyov’s dismissal in a one-line decree without any explanation, according to Reuters. Moskalyov had been appointed to the position last March.

The JFO was launched as a resistance force in 2014 after Russia’s seizure of the Crimean peninsula and parts of the Donbas, and has been heavily involved in fighting since Moscow’s full invasion a year ago.

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

The war in Ukraine surpassed its one-year mark on Friday, as Russian forces launched a new offensive earlier this month. Zelensky declared the year-long fight as a “year of invincibility” in an address last week.

Zelensky said last week that Ukraine will continue to defend Bakhmut, an eastern city in Donetsk province that has seen months of brutal Russian attacks, but “not at any price.”

President Biden visited Ukraine last week, ahead of a trip to Poland to deliver remarks about the one-year conflict between the two counties. In his address, he reiterated the United States’ and his allies’ commitment to Ukraine’s ultimate victory.

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