As of: February 5, 2024, 4:26 p.m
By: Lisa Mahnke
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President Zelensky wants to reshuffle the Ukrainian leadership.
Recently there has been increased tension.
But there is a catch: Saluzhnyj's popularity.
Kiev - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has given new fuel to rumors about the replacement of army chief Valery Zalushnyj.
Shortly before the second anniversary of the start of the war, Zelensky wants to reorganize the military leadership.
“Certainly a reset, a new beginning is necessary.
When we talk about it, I mean the replacement of a number of leaders of the state, not just in a single area such as the military,” the president said in an interview with the Italian television channel
RAI
.
“If we want to win, we all have to pull together.”
In the past there have been repeated differences between the president and Commander-in-Chief Saluzhny.
Tensions between Zelensky and Saluzhny rose particularly as a result of Ukraine's failed summer offensive.
The military called for a mobilization of up to 500,000 people.
The president initially rejected the request and demanded more details.
In November, the military leader spoke of a stalemate in the Ukraine war, contrary to government opinion.
Only recently did he criticize the lack of fighting power due to domestic political resistance, not least probably from the president himself.
In the middle of the Ukraine war: Zelensky confirms rumors of reorganization - not only Saluzhny affected
In the interview, Zelenskyj publicly expressed for the first time the consideration of removing the commander-in-chief from office.
Salushnyj became commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military a few months before the Russian invasion in February 2022.
Firing him is a potentially dangerous game, as the army chief has recently been significantly more popular than the president in polls.
According to the German Press Agency,
Kiev's mayor Vitali Klitschko also spoke
positively about the general: "In many ways it is thanks to Saluzhnyj that the Ukrainians really believed in our armed forces."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to bring the government and military back together.
© IMAGO/Ukraine Presidency via Bestimage
Military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov and army commander Oleksandr Syrskyj were named as possible successors to Saluschnyj.
However, Saluzhny is not the only one affected by the new order.
Zelensky is concerned with a number of leading representatives of the state, not just from the military: “If we want to win, we all have to go in the same direction, confident of victory,” the president explained.
Ukrainska
Pravda
reported that the dismissal of Chief of General Staff Serhiy Shaptala was also being discussed.
No other names have been revealed yet, but Zelensky's comments suggest more.
Ukraine will “have to mobilize” – Saluzhny is not the only one thinking about recruiting in the Ukraine war
Saluzhny is not the only voice calling for further mobilization.
Bundeswehr Major General Christian Freuding also sees this as necessary for Ukraine to be successful against Russia: “Ukraine will certainly have to mobilize more soldiers - just because of the number of casualties, as far as we can see,” Freuding explained to the editorial
network Germany
.
The regeneration of troops that have been at the front for a long time is also a reason for further recruitment.
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Even if Zelenkyj contradicts the requested number of 500,000 more mobilized people, the Ukrainian government also assumes that further recruitment is necessary.
The second draft law has now been introduced under Prime Minister Denis Schmyhal after the first was rejected in parliament.
In Ukraine there is no right to conscientious objection during wartime, so all but a few men living in Ukraine could potentially be affected.
Men of military age (18 to 60 years old) are only allowed to leave Ukraine under certain conditions.
(lismah)