At least two people refused to take the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kirill Budanov, and the commander of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Alexander Syrsky. The Times and The Economist newspapers write about this.
According to media reports, the mentioned persons were considered to replace Valery Zaluzhny. The latter was summoned to a personal meeting with President Vladimir Zelensky on January 29, at which he told the head of state’s advisers that “their assessments of the military situation are more positive than realistic.” Zaluzhny, according to the publication, was asked to resign.
However, the media notes that Zelensky was eventually forced to “cancel his decision under pressure from senior military commanders and international partners.” Allegedly, officers and international partners, including the US and UK, have expressed concern.
According to The New York Times, Zelensky’s team postponed Zaluzhny’s dismissal, allegedly due to a leak of data about the resignation. The media also writes that Zaluzhny allegedly refused an offer to become an ambassador to one of the European countries.
The day before, several Ukrainian media reported the dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny from the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Office of the President did not confirm this information. RBC quotes one of the Ukrainian generals as saying that “Zelensky must understand that the military trusts Zaluzhny, and he should learn to trust Zaluzhny.”
Source: Rosbalt
Mario Twitchell is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his insightful and thought-provoking writing on a wide range of topics including general and opinion. He currently works as a writer at 247 news agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
