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Who would lead Ukraine's new joint military command?
Summary
A look back at the appointment of a commander for the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces and a related change to servicemen's housing compensation.
What did Kyiv's military leadership look like in mid-March 2018? On 17 March 2018, the answer included a newly named commander for a newly created body.
On 16 March 2018, President Petro Poroshenko appointed Serhiy Nayev as commander of the Joint Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Joint Staff was created to replace the ATO Staff, the command structure that had run the anti-terrorist operation. The appointment put a named commander at the head of the new body.
A day earlier, on 15 March 2018, Poroshenko signed amendments to the law on the social and legal protection of servicemen and their families. The changes were aimed at removing what was described as social injustice in military personnel's right to receive monetary compensation for renting housing.
Taken together, the two decisions, made on consecutive days, covered both command arrangements and the welfare of service personnel. The reports from 15 and 16 March 2018 do not link the two measures, and each addressed a separate issue: who commands the new structure, and how servicemen are supported with housing costs.
