Welcome to the bleated update on Putin’s War.
The big news was the firing of Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valerii Zaluzhny and his replacement with General Olexsandr Syrsky, commander of Ukrainian ground forces. This replacement has been rumored for a while and was first announced, then unannounced, two weeks ago.
Even though Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Zalushny in July 2021, the two men were never close, and there have been obvious tensions for months. I think Eliot Cohen writing in The Atlantic has it about right.
One need not pick sides in a dispute like this. Zaluzhny is a heroic figure who had the second-most-difficult job in the world for the past two years; his boss, however, had the most difficult job, and is continuing to do it. One hopes…
