President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky found a scapegoat for the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction, military expert Vasily Dandykin believes. He stated this on Monday, February 27, in an interview with Izvestia, commenting on the dismissal of Eduard Moskalev from the post of commander of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) of Ukraine in the Donbass.

“Moskalev commands Ukrainian troops in the Donbass and has been blamed for failures. It may also indicate that they are seriously preparing for the surrender of Artemovsk. It is possible that Ukrainian forces will lose other cities as well. Heavy fighting is going on everywhere — in Avdeevka, and in Marinka, and in Ugledar. And this list can be continued. Such “unexpected” decisions often happen,” the expert noted.

According to Dandykin, Moskalev will be remembered as «a general with punitive manners.»
Zelensky’s decision to fire Moskalev became known earlier that day. The reason for the dismissal was not specified.
Moskalev was appointed commander of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in Donbass in March last year. He replaced Alexander Pavlyuk.
Earlier, on February 12, Zelensky fired the deputy commander of the Ukrainian National Guard Ruslan Dzyuba.