Zelensky U-turns after telling Ukraine's top general he would be sacked [View all]

President keeps Valery Zaluzhny as commander-in-chief of armed forces under pressure from military top brass, amid rumours of growing rift

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/zelensky-valery-zaluzhny-ukraine-war-general-lp9wdp3l2

https://archive.is/7w7T3


President Zelensky told the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces he was dismissing him, but was forced to reverse his decision after pressure from senior military commanders and international partners. According to senior officers, General Valery Zaluzhny was summoned to a face-to-face meeting with Zelensky on Monday, where he told the president that his advisers’ assessments of the military situation were more positive than realistic. It was the first time that the pair had met without Zelensky’s advisers in a year and a half, one officer said. He was then asked to resign, according to three sources. When he refused, Zelensky said that he would sign a decree dismissing him.

Zaluzhny returned to his office and informed his deputies that he had been fired. A former minister and a former MP then leaked the news on social media. “I’m packing my things,” Zaluzhny told one of the officers who asked him about rumours about his resignation. Sources also told The Times that he was offered the role of secretary of the National Security Council, which he declined. Tensions between the country’s political and military leadership have been growing for several months. Zaluzhny’s approval ratings are higher than Zelensky’s after nearly two years of war, fuelling speculation that he will run for political office. The general has rejected those rumours, stating firmly that he is focused on fighting Russia.


In a recent article for The Economist he broke from Zelensky’s optimistic approach to describe the war as having reached a stalemate and he has publicly criticised a decision by the presidential administration to sack recruitment officers, a move that military officials say has made it harder for the army to replace its casualties. “The country is run by an actor who reacts sharply if someone receives more applause than him,” said Yuriy Butusov, a blogger and military ­journalist who is fiercely critical of ­Zelensky. Sources said that after Zaluzhny told his subordinates he would be leaving, senior commanders and international partners, including the US and the UK, expressed their concern. Ukrainian troops are facing challenging winter conditions without western supplies.

The decision provoked a backlash on Ukrainian social media. For two hours, rumours abounded that the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, and then the commander of Ukraine’s land forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, had been offered the post. Both are said to have rejected the offer, forcing Zelensky to backtrack. With rumours of the dismissal already swirling, the Ministry of Defence posted cryptically on Telegram: “It’s not true,” without specifying what they were referring to. An hour later, Zelensky’s spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, denied the general had been sacked in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda, a leading Ukrainian news outlet. Zaluzhny’s commanders fear that the president may again try to replace him and one said that it would be difficult for him to continue with confidence if there was no public show of support from Zelensky.

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