As of: February 5, 2024, 5:14 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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Prominent Ukrainians cannot understand why President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to get rid of the deserving general Valeriy Zalushny now of all times.
You find clear words.
Kiev - In the middle of a difficult phase in the Ukraine war, a spectacular power struggle has broken out in Kiev.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to part ways with Supreme Commander Valeriy Zalushny, but the top general of the Ukrainian armed forces refuses to step down.
Ukraine: Power struggle between Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Valery Zalushnyj
The 50-year-old, shirt-sleeved Saluzhnyj is considered extremely popular among his soldiers and the population of Ukraine.
In 2022, the Ukrainian troops under his command recorded sensational military successes against the Russian invading army of Kremlin autocrat Vladimir Putin.
Now prominent Ukrainians have demonstratively taken his side.
Vitali Klitschko, ex-professional boxer and current mayor of the Ukrainian capital, said, according to the news portal
Ukrainska Pravda
: “It was largely thanks to Saluzhny that Ukrainians really believed in our armed forces, which today enjoy the most trust.
General Valeriy Zalushnyi went through many difficult moments as a soldier during the war.
Only he knows how many there actually were.”
In criticism: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj.
© IMAGO / ZUMA Wire
Zelensky versus Saluschny: Klitschko sides with the general
Klitschko harshly criticized that “politics can be more important than common sense and the interests of the state.”
Today, as Ukraine “fights for its survival, the most important thing is the combat capability and cohesion of the army and the unity of society.
Is that the goal of the suggested changes?
Society is unsettled.
And that should be taken into account.
Ultimately: No more political intrigue and internal fighting.”
What Klitschko meant by suggested changes: Zelensky announced in an interview with the Italian broadcaster Rai 1 that he wanted to replace the country's current political and military leadership.
“A reset, a new beginning is necessary,” explained the 46-year-old Zelenskyj: “By that I mean the replacement of a number of leading personalities, not just in a single area such as the military.” It almost seemed as if Zelenskyj, the nominal Head of state and commander in chief, confirm his distrust of Saluzhnyj.
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Zelenskyj against Saluschnyj: Ukraine supporter Prytula calls for debate
“The soldiers in the trenches don’t care much about any of this.
For them it's about holding the line and surviving the next day," said former Ukrainian television presenter Serhij Prytula, who supports the army with donations from his foundation - including with drones.
“In my opinion, those involved should not take this out in public.
You should pick up the phone and sort this out behind closed doors.
Anything else just drives society crazy,” Prytula told the
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ)
: “We already have an enemy in the East, we don’t need a second one within the country.
We must stop the internal fighting and maintain our unity.
Otherwise the Russians will destroy our state!”
General Valeriy Zalushnyi went through many difficult moments as a soldier during the war.
Only he knows how many there actually were.
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev
Ukraine power struggle: Saluschnyj probably published articles without informing Zelenskyj
The relationship of trust between Zelensky and Zalushny has been strained since November, after the British news magazine
Economist
published a guest article by the general on the stalled war against the Russian invasion.
And all this without consultation with Zelensky, which, according to
Spiegel
, was complained about in the presidential office.
Saluschnyj spoke, among other things, of a “war of position” without dynamics, which the president immediately denied.
At the beginning of February, Salushnyj followed up in an interview with the American broadcaster CNN in which he stated that a Ukrainian drone offensive was intended to put Putin's troops in their place.
Apparently the interview was conducted before Zelensky's attempt to get Saluzhny to resign.
Formally, only Defense Minister Rustem Umjerov can dismiss the top general.
This has not happened so far, as of February 5th.
Because Umyerov knows about the likely consequences of Saluzhny's dismissal, while his opponent Putin has announced a possible even greater mobilization of the Russian population?
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: Valery Zalushnyy.
© IMAGO / ZUMA Press
Volodymyr Zelenskyj: Ukraine President warns his commander-in-chief
In November 2023, Zelensky warned the general about alleged political ambitions in an interview with Britain's
The Sun
: "With all due respect to General Zalushny and all the commanders who are on the battlefield, there is an absolute understanding of the hierarchy, there cannot be two, give three, four, five.
If you fight the war with the idea that tomorrow you will do politics or elections, then in your words and on the front you behave like a politician and not like a military man.”
Saluschnyj, however, had denied political ambitions.
Under his command, the Ukrainian armed forces pushed the Russian army back from the northern and northwestern suburbs of Kiev (around 2.8 million inhabitants) and from the city of Kharkiv (around 1.5 million inhabitants) in the spring of 2022.
In the fall of 2022, the Ukrainian troops under his command liberated Kherson on the Black Sea coast and pushed the Russians back behind the border with a surprising feint near Kharkiv in the northwest of the country.
(pm)