New rumors about Saluzhnyj
Will Zelensky fire the Ukrainian army chief?
January 30, 2024, 8:13 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The relationship between President Zelensky and Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Saluzhny is said to be tense. Now rumors are making the rounds that the general is about to be eliminated. The authorities deny such reports.
According to a media report, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to replace the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army. As the Financial Times reported, citing four people familiar with the matter, Zelensky offered General Valeriy Zalushnyy on Monday to take over the Defense Ministry. Accordingly, Saluschnyj turned down the offer.
According to two of the sources, Zelensky made it clear to Zalushny that he would be removed from his current position regardless of whether he accepted the ministerial post. According to the Financial Times, all four insiders agreed that although the decision to fire Saluzhny had been made in Zelensky’s office, he might not be fired for some time, after Ukrainian media reported on the plans on Monday.
According to the Financial Times, it is unclear who could succeed Saluzhny. Possible candidates include Oleksandr Syrskyj, the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, and Kyrylo Budanov, head of the HUR military intelligence service. Both men are said to be close to the president.
Public reprimand from the President’s Office
Rumors about a tense relationship between Zelensky and the army chief have been circulating for months. In November, Saluzhnyi said in an article for the British magazine The Economist that Ukraine was trapped in trench warfare. He was then publicly reprimanded by the President’s Office.
A removal of Saluzhnyj could cause excitement in Ukraine, as the 50-year-old is highly regarded by the population and the military. The successful Ukrainian counteroffensives in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions as well as the defense of Kiev in the first days of the war are attributed to him.
“This will have a very, very negative impact on the [Moral] the army,” Ukrainian military historian Mykhailo Zhyrokhov told Radio NV in Kiev, adding that he considered the rumors to be “fakes.” A removal of Saluzhny could also unsettle Kiev’s Western supporters, including senior military officials who have served in recent years have worked closely with the general for years.
Saluzhnyj himself did not comment on the dismissal rumors. Zelensky’s spokesman Serhiy Nykyforov and the Defense Ministry denied such reports on Monday. “Dear journalists, we answer everyone immediately: No, that’s not true,” the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel. The president’s office declined to comment further on the issue to the Financial Times today.