MOSCOW, May 9. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has appointed Valery Zaluzhny, the former top commander of the national armed forces, as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the UK, according to an executive order posted on the presidential website.

Earlier on Thursday, Zelensky dismissed Zaluzhny from military service for health reasons.

On February 8, Zaluzhny was dismissed as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army. At the time, Ukrainian media wrote that Zaluzhny was Zelensky’s main rival in the potential presidential election, if it were to take place. After the commander-in-chief’s dismissal, the opposition criticized Zelensky’s decision, but he justified this move on the grounds of stagnation on the front and the need to ‘reset the generalship."

It became later known that the president had agreed to appoint Zaluzhny the ambassador to the UK. However, the Ukrainian media outlets reported that the former top commander had dropped off the radar for a long time and even stopped posting anything on social networks. Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that Zaluzhny would be made an ambassador to avoid speculation around his activities.

On March 26, Zelensky dismissed Alexey Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, who was also given a diplomatic position. In addition, Zelensky’s first aide and longtime friend Sergey Shefir and three more freelance advisers were dismissed. According to analysts at the Ukrainian online newspaper Strana, these reshuffles prove that Andrey Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office, is consolidating his position and has in fact become the second most influential person in Ukraine.