01 December 2024

UKRAINE: Changes in Command Ground Forces & Armed Forces

Zelenskyy appoints new Ground Forces commander, Ukrainian troops attack oil depot in Russia - Friday brief

Zelenskyy appoints new Ground Forces commander, Ukrainian troops attack oil depot in Russia - Friday briefRBC-Ukraine collage

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new commander of Ground Forces of Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Defense Forces struck at the Atlas oil depot in the Rostov region of Russia.

Read more about what happened on Friday, November 29.

Zelenskyy appoints Mykhailo Drapatyi as new commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces

According to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he received a briefing from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi regarding the situation on the front lines and in the areas of the Kursk operation.

"Together with the Commander-in-Chief, we made several personnel decisions for our army. Mykhailo Drapatyi has been appointed the new Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Oleksii Apostol has been appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces," Zelenskyy wrote.

Ukraine's General Staff confirms nighttime strike on Atlas oil depot in Russia

The Ukrainian Defense Forces, on the night of November 29, launched a strike on the Atlas oil depot located in Russia's Rostov region. The Ukrainian military also targeted an enemy radar station of the Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region.

As a result of the strike, a fire broke out at the oil depot, with at least two ignition areas being recorded.

Ukraine's General Staff noted that the Atlas depot had already been attacked in the summer of 2024. The depot is part of the Russian military-industrial complex, which supplies fuel to the Russian military.

Ukraine's army chief visits Donbas, makes decisions on hot fronts


The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions.

"I worked in units and subdivisions in the Donetsk region, on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions. The main goal was to personally communicate with the commanders directly leading the battle, address problematic issues, and provide comprehensive assistance," he said.

Syrskyi said he made all necessary decisions on the reinforcement of units with reserves, additional ammunition, weapons, and military equipment.

Ukraine returns bodies of 502 fallen soldiers

Ukraine has returned the bodies of 502 servicemen who died in the war, participating in combat operations on various fronts.

Ukraine managed to bring back the fallen defenders to the controlled territory, including:

  • 397 soldiers from the Donetsk direction;
  • 24 from the Luhansk direction;
  • 64 from the Zaporizhzhia direction;
  • 17 fallen soldiers returned from morgues in Russia. 

Zelenskyy's trust rating falling: analysts name reasons - The Times

The rating of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has decreased significantly. In recent months, it has continued to fall noticeably.
The British publication The Times reports this.
Journalists note that, according to polls, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, whom Zelenskyy relieved in February after rumors of disagreements over the conduct of the war, is now the most trusted person in Ukraine.
Zelenskiy appoints Oleksandr Pavliuk as new ground forces chief | Reuters

Ukraine sends new forces to the front, Zelensky suggests NATO shield

Story by DPA International
Ukraine sends new forces to the front, Zelensky suggests NATO shield
Russia-Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy suggests war could end without return of  seized land

Tens of thousands of soldiers have deserted from Ukraine's army

FILE - Military medics give first aid to wounded Ukrainian soldiers near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Jan. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Copyright Efrem Lukatsky/Copyright 2024 The AP. All rights reserved
By Daniel Bellamy with AP
Published on 
"..Although Moscow has also been dealing with desertions, Ukrainians going AWOL have laid bare deeply rooted problems bedevilling their military and how Kyiv is managing the war, from the flawed mobilisation drive to the overstretching and hollowing out of front-line units. It comes as the U.S. urges Ukraine to draft more troops, and allow for the conscription of those as young as 18...
More than 100,000 soldiers have been charged under Ukraine’s desertion laws since Russia invaded in February 2022, according to the country’s General Prosecutor’s Office.
Nearly half have gone AWOL in the last year alone, after Kyiv launched an aggressive and controversial mobilisation drive that government officials and military commanders concede has largely failed.
  • It's a staggeringly high number by any measure, as there were an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in combat before the mobilisation drive began. And the actual number of deserters may be much higher. One lawmaker with knowledge of military matters estimated it could be as high as 200,000.
John Hardie on X: "Zelenskyy announced personnel changes within the  military leadership yesterday. Maj Gen Mykhailo Drapatyi, commander of the  Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Group, has replaced LTG Oleksandr Pavliuk as Ground  Forces commander-in-chief.

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