On January 31, local time, Russian Business Wire** quoted the British Times as reporting that Ukraine** Vladimir Zelensky, under pressure from Ukraine's military leadership and international partners, canceled the decision to remove the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, and the original commander-in-chief candidates Budanov and Syrsky both rejected the proposal to replace the commander-in-chief.
Valery Zaluzhny Source: Global Look Press
According to the Times, when Zaluzhny and Zelensky talked, Zelensky asked the other party to take the initiative to resign, and after being refused, Ukraine** said that it would sign a dismissal order.
Upon returning to his office, Zaluzhny revealed the news to his deputies.
The top of the Ukrainian army, as well as partners of the United States and Great Britain, are concerned about the news of Zaluzhny's resignation.
Screenshot of related reports.
On the evening of the 29th, Ukrainians and politicians began to report the news that Zaluzhny was about to be resigned.
Among them is the former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada (Congress) of Ukraine, Borislav Bereza, citing the **office***, saying that the commander-in-chief refused to be the head of the Ukrainian *** and the defense council or ambassador.
Borislav Bereza.
According to The Times and The Economist, the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Girylo Budanov, and the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, Alexander Syrsky, are candidates for commander-in-chief, but they both refused to hold the post.
But according to colleagues close to Budanov, he did not apply to replace Zaluzhny, but he also has no right to refuse to take over.
According to the New York Times, the reasons for Zelensky's change of decision are, first, that there is no immediate replacement, and second, that the news of his dismissal has been leaked.
Under internal and external pressure, Zelensky canceled the decision to remove Zaluzhny from his post.
Girillo Budanov.
A person Zaluzhny trusted said: "What Zelensky needs to understand is that the military trusts Zaluzhny, and if he wants the military to trust him, then he needs to learn to trust Zaluzhny." ”
The Ukrainian leadership denied the removal of Zaluzhny from his post.
The Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine issued a message saying: "Distinguished journalists, we immediately respond to you: there is no such thing, this is fake news. ”
Ukrainian spokesman Sergei Nikiforov also made a statement: "It must be fake. **There is no need to dismiss the commander-in-chief".
In 2021, Zaluzhny became the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army.
In an interview with The Economist in the fall of 2023, Zaluzhny said that the fighting was at a stalemate, and publicly disagreed with this statement; After that, Ukraine and the West** began to report on the existence of a conflict between the two of them.
Alexander Sersky.
Zelensky's biographer, Time magazine reporter Simon Schuster, once said that long before the full-scale outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, there were already contradictions between Zaluzhny and Zelensky: the commander-in-chief advocated full mobilization to consolidate the border with Russia; And ** fears that such a move will cause panic in society.
In addition, Zaluzhny once cut ties with the 20th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley because he refused to provide Ukraine with **, a move that made Zelensky unhappy. Zelenskyy has described his relationship with Zaluzhny as a working one. (Vincent compiled January 31, 2024).
Insight into the Ukraine crisis