Military expert Mykhailo Zhyrokhov says that army morale may reach critical levels due to rumors of Zaluzhnyi'

False rumors circulated about the supposed resignation of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, according to a statement by Mykhailo Zhyrokhov on Radio NV on Jan. 30.

"It's very difficult to say anything specifically, but I will say one thing: it was not a fabrication from below, and this is not a work of PSYOP – neither Russian nor ours” Zhyrokhov said.

“It was a fabrication, if it was a fake, from the very top.”

Read also: Zelenskyy’s office denies conflict with Zaluzhnyi

However, highly-placed sources personally told him that “this information does have a certain basis.”

It is difficult to know precisely what is going on behind closed doors among the country's military and political leadership, but Zhyrokhov notes that this controversy will almost certainly affect the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Read also: Zelenskyy’s office denies sacking Zaluzhnyi

"This will have a very, very negative impact on the [morale] of the army,” he said.

“And in times of war, engaging in such activities is, at the very least, wrong due to the risk of reaching a critical point of demoralization."

On Jan. 29, a number of Ukrainian media outlets, citing their own sources, reported Zaluzhnyi's resignation.

A source in the National Security and Defense Council, speaking to NV’s partner publication Ukrainska Pravda, claimed that Zaluzhnyi "was invited and offered an ambassadorial position” but refused.

Read also: Some in Zelenskyy’s party want to oust Zaluzhnyi — NV interview

The Ministry of Defense, responding to rumors that Zaluzhnyi and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had been fired, simply stated that "this is not true."

The rumors that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had resigned Zaluzhnyi were also denied by the President's press secretary, Serhii Nykyforov.

The President's Office allegedly planned to change the entire line of leaders of the security and defense forces. The post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces may have been offered to the head of the HUR intelligence services, Kyrylo Budanov.

However, HUR unofficially told NV that they have no information about such plans.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine