Zelensky's actions in the Ukrainian army

 Zelensky announced this action simultaneously with his meeting with Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umerov. Zelensky also announced the change of the commander of the medical forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Tatyana Ostashchenko, at the request of Umerov and added: “Ostashchenko was replaced by the head of the military clinic in Kyiv, Anatoly Kazmirchuk.” The Ukrainian army said it had made progress in liberating occupied territories in the east and south, and last week the military controlled areas on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the southern Kherson region.

Ukraine's commander-in-chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhny, said the war was entering a new phase of attrition and that Ukraine needed more advanced technology to counter the Russian army. While Zelensky has repeatedly said progress takes time, he denied the war was at a stalemate and called on Kyiv's Western partners, mainly the United States, to maintain levels of military support. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dmitry Kostyuk said on Sunday: “Many foreign mercenaries hired by Kiev, having experienced the terrible reality of the battlefield, are quickly leaving Ukraine.” Moscow has previously said that Kyiv is using soldiers from other countries as cannon fodder to break through Russian defense lines. Kostyuk criticized the country's conscription campaign, which has been marred by numerous corruption scandals, and said that Ukraine's attempts to force its citizens to join the country's army are training soldiers who do not want to fight. In July, the Russian Defense Ministry estimated that more than 11,000 foreign mercenaries had arrived in Ukraine since the war began, and nearly 5,000 of them had left the country after seeing how they were treated by the military and local authorities.

Valeriy Chaly, Ukraine's former ambassador to Washington, also said: "Kyiv should prepare for a possible political crisis in the United States, which could weaken the country's military assistance to Ukraine and lead to a loss of American support." The former Ukrainian ambassador to the United States said that it is already clear that Washington’s assistance to Ukraine will be reduced, and noted: “There is no doubt that the Republicans of the American House of Representatives, led by the new head of Congress Mike Johnson, will create obstacles to the provision of new assistance to Kiev.” . Last month, Joe Biden asked Congress to approve a $106 billion aid package focused primarily on Ukraine and Israel. However, many Republicans opposed the carte blanche policy for Kyiv, saying they wanted to treat the two issues separately. Meanwhile, Biden signed a stopgap spending bill Friday to avert a government shutdown that did not include any additional funding for Israel and Ukraine.