2024-01-31 21:08:02
kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Differences within Ukraine’s leadership have come to light following speculation that the country’s top military leader will be relieved amid reports of tensions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Rumors that Valerii Zaluzhnyi will be fired were rejected by Zelenskyy’s office and the Defense Ministry this week, and the commander-in-chief, who is hugely popular in the nation, remains in his job. However, reports have raised expectations of his imminent resignation, which might be a boon to Russia as the war approaches its second anniversary.
His departure would be the biggest shock to Ukraine’s military leadership since the Russian invasion began as the country grapples with low ammunition and personnel shortages following a failed summer counteroffensive. It might also affect the morale of Ukrainian soldiers, who have been fighting grueling battles for almost two years.
Military aid to fuel the next phase of the fighting is stalled in the US Congress, and Ukrainian forces are trying to defend their positions once morest advancing Russian soldiers.
“Zelenskyy has the right to fire Zaluzhnyi. But he needs to have a very good justification for it, a very good explanation that is understandable to Ukrainians,” commented Oleksii Haran, research director at the Kiev Foundation of Democratic Initiatives.
“We know that if Zaluzhnyi is removed right now, that will be used by Russian propaganda, and it will be used by forces, including those within the United States, that are delaying the supply of weapons to Ukraine. So that’s not going to be a good thing,” Haran said.
Zaluzhnyi enjoys great popularity at home and within the military, but has not been on good terms with Zelenskyy since he said in an interview with The Economist last year that the fight once morest Russia had reached a stalemate. The president denied that was the case.
Reports of Zaluzhnyi’s possible dismissal appeared in the Ukrainian press on Monday. The Ukrainian news site Mirror of the Week said the president had asked the general to resign, according to sources close to Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi. The military chief received an offer to serve as an advisor, but he reportedly rejected it.
The Associated Press might not confirm the reports. There was no response to requests for comment sent to Ukrainian officials, the president’s office and Zaluzhnyi’s office.
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