Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens as US President Joe Biden (not in photograph) speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Sept 21, 2023, in Washington. (PHOTO / FILE / AP)

KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday replaced the head of the country's Territorial Defense Forces, said the presidential press service.

Zelensky signed decrees to dismiss Ihor Tantsyura, who had led the TDF since May 2022, and appointed Anatoliy Barhylevych as the new commander.

Founded in 2022, the TDF is a branch of the Ukrainian army involved in the organization, preparation and execution of territorial defense tasks.

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Barhylevych, 54, a major-general of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had served as the chief of the staff of troops in eastern Ukraine since 2022. 

In September, the Ukrainian government dismissed all six deputy defense ministers and the state secretary of the Defense Ministry. The move came after Rustem Umerov became Ukraine's new defense minister earlier this month, replacing Oleksii Reznikov. According to the government-run Ukrinform news agency, Umerov asked all deputy defense ministers to voluntarily submit their resignation letters.