President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky confirmed that he is thinking about replacing the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny.
“This is an issue that concerns the people who should lead Ukraine. Of course, a reset and a new beginning are needed”,” Rai 1 quotes him.
Zelensky emphasized that he was thinking about replacing not only Zaluzhny, but also a number of leaders, and not only in the military sphere.
The head of state said that replacing one person does not mean that “you can now hit the road.”
On the evening of January 29, a number of Ukrainian journalists and politicians immediately reported that Zelensky announced Zaluzhny’s removal from the post of commander-in-chief. Soon, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Zelensky’s press service called this information untrue. However, later the Ukrainian publication Zerkalo Nedeli, with reference to the office of the leader of the Kyiv regime, wrote that Zelensky actually invited Zaluzhny to leave his post.
On January 31, Bloomberg pointed out that disagreements between the president and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine appeared in the first months of the conflict and were associated with different approaches to the conduct of hostilities. Thus, Zelensky allegedly advocates “bold” actions, while Zaluzhny is more conservative.
On February 1, CNN reported that the decree of the President of Ukraine on the dismissal of Zaluzhny was expected by the end of the week.
