Zelensky Names Sviatoslav Zaits Ground Forces Chief

President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Maj. Gen. Hennadiy Shapovalov as commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) and appointed Brig. Gen. Sviatoslav Zaits to replace him on Wednesday, Sept. 2.The personnel changes were announced in decree No. 852/2026 and decree No. 853/2026, published on the president’s official website.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.“Appoint Sviatoslav Anatoliyovych Zaits commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the appointment decree reads.The separate dismissal decree removed Shapovalov from the post. Neither document explained the reason for the leadership change or announced a new position for him.Who is Sviatoslav Zaits?Zaits is a veteran of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces who previously commanded the 20th Army Corps, responsible for defending part of the front in the Dnipropetrovsk region.He was appointed to lead the corps in April 2026 after serving as chief of staff and deputy commander of the 8th Air Assault Corps, according to Hromadske.Zelensky promoted Zaits to brigadier general in May during a visit to the 20th Army Corps command post. At the time, Zaits briefed the president on the battlefield situation and the corps’ need for drones and other equipment, the Presidential Office said.In 2014, Zaits was a 26-year-old captain commanding a reconnaissance company of the 25th Airborne Brigade. He and nearly 100 Ukrainian troops were conducting exercises in Crimea when Russian forces began occupying the peninsula. Other Topics of Interest US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll Resigns Amid Tensions With Hegseth Driscoll played an important role in the Trump administration’s efforts to restart negotiations between Ukraine and Russia amid stalled diplomacy. The Ukrainian soldiers were surrounded for about a month and faced repeated demands to surrender and leave their equipment behind. Zaits said more than 1,000 Russian troops were stationed near their position.“From the first minutes, we made it clear that we would defend ourselves,” Zaits said in a 2018 interview with Army FM.His unit refused the Russian demands and eventually withdrew with its equipment to mainland Ukraine, where the soldiers continued their service.Zaits was also among several senior Ukrainian officers whom Zelensky consulted in July during discussions about the military’s leadership and the situation on the most active sections of the front.Who did Zaits replace?Shapovalov had commanded Ukraine’s Ground Forces since June 19, 2025.Before taking the post, he represented Ukraine at the NATO Security Assistance and Training for Ukraine headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, where he worked on logistics, supplies and the training of Ukrainian forces.Shapovalov previously commanded Operational Command South and the Tavria grouping of forces, which operated in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, according to his official Ground Forces biography. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.