Zelenskyy demotes 2 Ukrainian generals, calls them 'traitors'

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Fox News correspondent Jeff Paul has the latest from Lviv, Ukraine, on 'Special Report.'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an overnight speech Friday that he has demoted two of his own generals, describing them as "traitors." 

The leadership shuffle in the upper echelon of Ukraine's government comes as its war with Russia stretches Friday into its 37th day. 

"Today another decision was made. Regarding antiheroes. Now I do not have time to deal with all the traitors. But gradually they will all be punished," Zelenskyy said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv, Ukraine, on Thursday night.  (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

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"That is why the ex-chief of the Main Department of Internal Security of the Security Service of Ukraine Naumov Andriy Olehovych and the former head of the Office of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kherson region Kryvoruchko Serhiy Oleksandrovych are no longer generals," he continued. 

Zelenskyy didn't explicitly say why the generals were demoted, but said, "According to Article 48 of the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, those servicemen among senior officers who have not decided where their homeland is, who violate the military oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people [in regard to] the protection of our state, its freedom and independence, will inevitably be deprived of senior military ranks. Random generals don't belong here!" 

Current Russian military activity in Ukraine.  (Fox News)

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During the speech, Zelenskyy also told Ukrainians that "there will be battles ahead" and "we still have a very difficult path to cover to get everything we strive for." 

"The invaders are allocating their sick creativity to the temporarily occupied areas of the Kherson region," he added. "Also in Donbas, in Mariupol, in the Kharkiv direction, Russian troops are accumulating the potential for strikes. Powerful strikes."