Ukraine's popular 'Iron General' replaced as war grinds on

FILE PHOTO: Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi visits a monument to Holodomor victims during a commemoration ceremony of the famine of 1932-33, in which millions died of hunger, in Kyiv, Ukraine November 25, 2023. The ceremony happens amid Russia's attack on Ukraine. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File Photo

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian armed forces commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who was replaced on Thursday, became a national hero for repelling Moscow's invading forces two years ago but suffered battlefield setbacks as the war ground on.

The move ends intense speculation over his fate after reported frictions between him and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, whose authority will be tested as he seeks to rally troops under a new army chief and change the dynamic of the war.