President Petro Poroshenko has put Lt-Gen Serhiy Nayev in charge of the Joint Forces.
"On my initiative, the Ukrainian parliament passed the law on the reintegration of Donbas. This document lays a new legal framework for resisting the enemy aggression in Donbas and, in perspective, for restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity. The format of the antiterrorist operation will be changed into the Joint Forces Operation. The Joint Forces chief will supervise the manpower and resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other military units and law-enforcement agencies. I decided to appoint Lt-Gen Serhiy Nayev to the post," Poroshenko said on a visit to the antiterrorist operation area.
"I tasked the Joint Forces commander to strengthen the Armed Forces to make them capable of not only defending but also releasing the occupied territories," he added.
In early March, Nayev was appointed the deputy head of the Armed Forces' General Staff. Previously, he was the first deputy commander of the Group Troops, headed the East and South operational commands in the antiterrorist operation area.