Ukraine has named the former chief of its armed forces Valery Zaluzhny on Thursday as its new envoy to the UK, a month after being removed from his position as the country's commander-in-chief. The announcement came as Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky met British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps. 

In a statement, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that Zelensky "approved the candidacy of Valery Zaluzhny for the post of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom."

Zelensky praised the appointment of Zaluzhny, saying the alliance with Britain, one of his country's main backers since the war in Ukraine broke out, "should only get stronger," adding that "Zaluzhny told me that this is the direction he would like to take, diplomacy."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba considered the appointment a "logical step," stressing that Zaluzhny brought the necessary "understanding of the military context" to the post. 

Last month, Ukraine's Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, announced the removal of Zaluzhny, who has overseen Kiev's forces during the war in the country.

"Today, a decision was made to change the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. I am sincerely grateful to Valery Fedorovych (Zaluzhny) for all his achievements and victories," Umerov said on social media. 

Reports confirmed that Zaluzhny had been removed from his post as commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military by Zelensky, months after increasing tensions between the two, and especially with US military leaders over how to conduct the counteroffensive against Russia, Politico reported.