Ukraine's Zelenskiy appoints new chief of general staff to speed up reforms

By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday appointed Major-General Andriy Hnatov as Ukraine's chief of the general staff as Kyiv seeks to speed up army reform.

A decree published on the presidential website said General Hnatov, a deputy chief of staff, would replace Lieutenant-General Anatoliy Barhilevych.

"We are consistently changing the armed forces to make them even more combat ready. To achieve it, we are changing the management system and introducing clear standards," Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said in a statement.

Hnatov has 27 years of military experience, having risen through the ranks from marines brigade commander to leading troops in the eastern Donetsk region.

Barhilevych would now oversee military standards and strengthen discipline in the army, the minister said.

With the war against Russia in its fourth year, Ukraine is seeking to restructure and strengthen its military as it fights the much bigger enemy.

Ukraine is on the back foot on the battlefield, with Kyiv's troops retreating from Russia's Kursk region and battling under growing pressure in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russian troops have been advancing for months.

Military analysts estimate that about 880,000 people currently serve in the Ukrainian armed forces.

Despite the wartime challenges, the country has implemented changes to shed the Soviet legacy and make its military more efficient, appointing younger commanders with combat experience and supporting innovations. Last year Ukraine introduced a dedicated unmanned systems force.

At the start of this year, Ukrainian military officials said the country would move away from its brigades-based system towards a "corps" system of larger units, aiming to improve coordination among its forces spread along more than 1,000 kilometers of frontline and speed up decision-making.

One of Ukraine's top fighting units - the 3rd separate assault brigade - announced on Friday that it was reorganized into a corps.

"We plan to change the principles and methods of this war," Commander Andriy Biletskyi said in a video announcing the change. "This means changing the course of the war in favour of Ukraine."

(Reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by David Holmes)