The Guardian: The Ukrainian army commander rebels against Zelensky and refuses to resign
The Guardian reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked General Valery Zaloghny, one of the most prominent commanders of the Ukrainian army, to resign on January 29, but the general refused the request, raising speculation about the possibility of his removal from office.
Reports indicate that tensions between Ukrainian officials have been ongoing for weeks, especially after the failure of the counter-offensive campaign last summer, and although it’s not yet clear whether things will continue as they are, the dispute between Zelensky and Zaloghny appears to be accelerating.
In a statement to the Guardian, the Ukrainian opposition MP, Oleksiy Goncharenko, who is one of Zaloghny’s allies, said that the president asked Zaloghny to resign, but he refused, and added that the conflict may have resulted from personal differences, as he said, “I personally think that this is a bad idea, no”.
“There are fundamental issues between them, but Zelensky’s office was concerned that Zaloghny might be speaking in a political rather than a military context,” he added.
Social media circulated speculation about the possibility of dismissing Zaloghny, but the Ministry of Defense officially denied this, stressing that things were still the same.
In turn, Goncharenko confirmed that Zelensky might dismiss Zaloghny and appoint another person in his place, which would require support from the Minister of Defense, Based on an evaluation of local and international reactions.
A possible candidate to succeed Zaloghny is Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, who oversees covert operations against Moscow.
Budanov has previously been described as a replacement for former Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Yuryevich Reznikov in the context of a previous dismissal.
The alternative military strategy remains unclear in light of Russia’s significant influence on the front, and coinciding with the Ukraine crisis, the importance of convincing US Congress to approve a $61 billion military aid package to secure arms supplies to Ukraine from the United States becomes apparent.
The report also indicates that the real disagreement lies in the political aspects between the president and the senior generals, as Zaloghny is considered a prominent and beloved figure in the country, and his status has become more problematic in light of the president’s thinking about holding new elections.
Concluding an interview with The Economist last November, Zalogny, considered the country’s leading figure after the president, said he believed the current phase of the war had reached a stalemate, citing a need for the West to provide new assistance.
