Tensions escalate in Ukraine as Zelenskyy questions military leadership – WP

Controversy arose between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Armed Forces Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi at their meeting on Jan. 29 due to different views on how many military personnel Ukraine should mobilize this year, The Washington Post reported on Jan. 31 citing sources.

Zaluzhnyi proposed to mobilize about 500,000 people, a number that Zelenskyy considered impractical taking into account the shortage of uniforms, weapons and training facilities, as well as potential problems associated with mobilization, the publication’s sources said.

Zelenskyy also publicly stated that Ukraine did not have enough funds to pay such a large number of the soldiers conscripted.

Ukraine lacks strength due to increasing losses, Zaluzhnyi replied. The country also needs to take measures regarding the 400,000 new soldiers that Russia plans to mobilize.

Read also: Zelenskyy backtracked on decision to dismiss commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi after media leak – NYT

Zelenskyy told Zaluzhnyi that Ukrainians had grown tired of war and that the country’s international backers had also slowed military assistance, so perhaps a new commander would rejuvenate the situation, WP’s sources familiar with their conversation reported.

Senior members of Zaluzhnyi’s staff are also expected to be removed, WP’s sources said.

Zaluzhnyi dismissal rumors — what is known

Media reports on Jan. 29 speculated about Zaluzhnyi’s potential firing as Armed Forces Chief, which the Defense Ministry promptly denied.

Zelenskyy’s spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, also refuted these reports, while Zelenskyy didn’t raise the situation in his daily evening address.

Read also: Zelenskyy’s office denies sacking Zaluzhnyi

Zaluzhnyi was offered a Secretary of the National Security Council posting—an offer he reportedly refused, the Economist said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to dismiss Armed Forces Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, but backpedaled following a media leak on Jan. 30, reported The New York Times.

The tense relationship between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhniy was reported by NV’s sister publication Ukrainska Pravda on Dec. 4. According to their source from Ukraine’s Supreme Command-in-Chief Staff, Zelenskyy was leaning toward replacing Zaluzhnyi following Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv, a member of commented in the article.

Read also: Zaluzhnyi dismissal rumors stir up social media in Ukraine and Russia

There is no basis for rumors of Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal, Mykhailo Podoliak, Presidential Office advisor, stated on Dec. 5.

The President’s Office has repeatedly dismissed reports of a conflict between the state leader and the Chief of the Armed Forces, which allegedly intensified after two high-profile articles by Time and The Economist and a number of unrelated events.

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