Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has named Andrii Hnatov the new chief of the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces, replacing Anatoliy Barhylevych ahead of an important meeting between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Hnatov has "over 27 years of military experience."

Barhylevych had been in the position for about a year. He will now be general inspector of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

"We are consistently changing the Armed Forces to make them even more efficient. To do this, we are changing the management system and implementing clear standards," Umerov said in a statement.

Changes

"Grateful to Lieutenant General Anatoliy Barhylevych for his service as Chief of the General Staff. In the most difficult times, his experience and professionalism were important to the organization of defense of Ukraine," Umerov added. "Changes are in process. Strengthening the army for victory."

Putin and Trump are set to meet by phone on Tuesday to talk about how to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, which the United States has mostly paid for on the Ukraine side.

Many "elements of a Final Agreement" have been agreed to "but much remains," Trump said of the process on Truth Social.

"Thousands of young soldiers, and others, are being killed. Each week brings 2,500 soldier deaths, from both sides, and it must end NOW," Trump wrote. "I look very much forward to the call with President Putin."

Bad situation

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Putin in Moscow last week to discuss the ceasefire framework, which  Secretary of State Marco Rubio persuaded senior Ukrainian officials during talks in Saudi Arabia to agree to.

There has been talk of how to split up Ukrainian and Russian assets once the war ends, according to Trump.

"It’s a bad situation in Russia, and it’s a bad situation in Ukraine," Trump told reporters on Monday.

"What’s happening in Ukraine is not good, but we’re going to see if we can work a peace agreement, a ceasefire and peace. And I think we’ll be able to do it," he added.

The war started on February 24, 2022, while Joe Biden was president and partly as a result of his leadership in allowing the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to go forward.

That pipeline was later blown up during the war.