Zelensky is moving to dismiss his most senior military commander overseeing the war against Russia
The Ukrainian government has informed the White House that it plans to dismiss the country’s top military commander overseeing the war against Russian forces, two informed sources said on Friday.
The move to oust General Valery Zaloghny, who has fallen out with President Volodymyr Zelensky over a range of issues, follows a Ukrainian counter-offensive last year that failed to reclaim large swaths of Russian-controlled territory.
A source close to Zelensky’s office said that the two men entered into a dispute over a new military mobilization campaign, as the president opposes Zaloghny’s proposal to mobilize 500,000 new soldiers.
But the source added that the process of relieving Zaloghny from his position as commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is currently on hold while the two sides work on their next steps.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that it’s unclear how long this process will take.
A second informed source said that the White House hadn’t expressed a position on the plan to replace Zalogny.
The source, who requested anonymity so that he could discuss the matter, said, “I confirm that the White House’s response was that we neither support nor object to their sovereign decision”.
The Washington Post was the first to report that Ukraine had informed the White House of the plan to dismiss Zaloghny.
US officials told Ukraine that they weren’t opposed to Zalogny’s dismissal, according to the source close to the Ukrainian president’s office.
The source added, “The United States agrees to Ukraine’s expulsion of him”.
He continued, “At the present time, the two sides (the president and the general) have paused to determine what the future will look like, and at the present time the status quo will remain until further notice”.
The source said that the friction between Zelensky and Zaloghny over mobilization is related to the president’s view that the army has a sufficient number of personnel that can be used more efficiently.
He added, “Zalozhny insists on mobilizing half a million men, while Zelensky believes that this isn’t necessary now”.
Zaloghny, known as the “Iron General,” is very popular, and the news about his dismissal could damage the morale of Ukrainian forces fighting to hold positions along more than 1,000 kilometers of front lines against a massive Russian force armed with large stockpiles of ammunition.
Ukrainian forces are suffering from a shortage of vital ammunition.
The United States, the country’s largest arms supplier, is running out of supplies, and a dispute between the White House and some Republican members of the House of Representatives has hindered approval of a new aid package.
A series of Western and Ukrainian media reports said that Zaloghny had rejected Zelensky’s request to step down.
The plan to replace Zaloghny, despite his popularity and ability as an inspiring leader, may indicate Kiev’s desire to take a new approach in dealing with the conflict.
