Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian President has announced that there are possibilities of removal of the country’s top military officer, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
According to the media reports, Zelenskyy in an interview said that he considers this move as part of an effort to redefine the country’s trajectory and the need for a new beginning.
Earlier, Army Chief of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny was called for a meeting at the president’s office where he was told that he will be fired, due to the tensions between Volodymyr Zelensky and his top commander.
In an interview with The Economist magazine in November 2023, Zaluzhny described the war with Russia as a stalemate.
According to the media sources, the Ukrainian President declared that he had made a decision to dismiss the commander-in-chief in the presence of Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.
Zelenskyy said, “I’m thinking about this replacement but it cannot be said that we replaced a single person”. He stated, “ it’s a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military. We must all be in the same direction if we want to win and we can’t be discouraged”.
His comments were the first acknowledgment of Zaluzhnyi’s firing. Notably, Zaluzhnyi is respected among Ukrainian service members and considered a national hero. Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko criticised Zaluzhnyi’s firing and said, “it was due to the general’s leadership that many Ukrainians truly trust the armed forces”.
Tensions between him and the president have been rising as the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which was launched in June failed to produce territory gains in Russian-occupied areas. According to Ukrainian and Western media reports, Zelenskyy asked Zaluzhnyi to give the resignation but the general refused.
Ukraine needs more Western military assistance because the Russian forces are spreading in many directions of the 1,500-kilometre (900-mile) frontline. An aid package has been blocked in the U.S Congress and Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal can lead to uncertainty among Western allies.
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