KYIV, July 28 – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Wednesday replaced the chief of the general staff of the armed forces and other military leaders in the most comprehensive reshuffle in the Ukrainian army over the past 18 months.

The reshuffle comes a day after replacing the commander-in-chief of the armed forces Roman Khomchak with Valery Zaluzhniy amid concerns over poor management of the army and personal conflicts between Khomchak and Defense Minister Andriy Taran.

Zelenskiy replaced the Chief of General Staff Serhiy Korniychuk with Serhiy Shaptala, the presidential press service reported.

Commander of the Joint Forces Volodymyr Kravchenko was replaced with Oleksandr Pavliuk, the report said. Commander of the Airborne Assault Troops Yevhen Moysiuk was dismissed, but his replacement had not been named in the report.

"After the rotations and the replacement of commanders and leaders in both the army and the Ministry of Defense, I expect more systematic work and understanding by each soldier of our army of the prospects for the development of the Armed Forces in general,” Zelenskiy said in a statement.

Separately, Zelenskiy also appointed Oleh Sinayko as the deputy head of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

The reshuffle is seen as an attempt to solve a gridlock that had apparently paralyzed management of the armed forces for many months and had even developed a personal animosity between Khomchak and Taran, according to people familiar with the situation. Khomchak was moved to a post on the national security and defense council.

Ukrainian troops have fought Russian-backed separatists in a conflict that Kyiv says has killed 14,000 people since 2014.

Roman Mashovets, the deputy chief of staff at the Presidential Office, on Wednesday met U.S. military attaché, Colonel Brittany Stewart and other U.S. diplomats to discuss the reshuffle and pace of reform in the defense sector.

“At the meeting the implementation of defense reforms in Ukraine, the separation of powers between the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, the optimization of military administration was discussed,” the presidential press service said in a separate report.

The meeting comes as Zelenskiy prepares to visit the While House on August 30 for a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, and the two are expected to discuss cooperation in the security and defense sectors among other things.

Ukraine has urged its Western backers to speed up its entry into the NATO military alliance as a deterrent against Russia, though NATO members say Kyiv must reform its armed forces and tackle corruption to be able to apply. (tl/ez)