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KYIV, 5 Feb: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is thinking about dismissing the country\u2019s top military officer as part of a broader leadership shakeup, a possibility that has shocked the nation fighting a war to end Russia\u2019s invasion and also worried Ukraine\u2019s Western allies.<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy confirmed in an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI TV released late Sunday that he was thinking about removing Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the popular commander-in-chief of Ukraine\u2019s armed forces. He said he was contemplating the move to ensure the country remains led by individuals who are \u201cconvinced of victory\u201d against Russia.<\/p>\n
\u201cA reset, a new beginning is necessary,\u201d Zelenskyy said. The review is \u201cnot about a single person but about the direction of the country\u2019s leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking about this replacement, but you can\u2019t say here we replaced a single person,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cWhen we talk about this, I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military. If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory. We cannot be discouraged, let our arms fall. We must have the right positive energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelenskyy\u2019s comments were his first acknowledgement of Zaluzhnyi,’s possible firing. The potential ouster of the general already has caused an uproar in Ukraine and delighted the Kremlin as the war approaches its second anniversary.<\/p>\n
Zaluzhnyi is widely respected among Ukrainian service members and considered a national hero. He is credited with stalling Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion in the early days of the war and expertly pushing back Moscow\u2019s troops.<\/p>\n
Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko criticized the possibility of Zaluzhnyi\u2019s firing, saying it was due to the general\u2019s leadership that \u201cmany Ukrainians truly trust the armed forces.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is a moment when politics might prevail over reason and country\u2019s interests,\u201d Klitschko said on social media. The mayor of Ukraine\u2019s capital city has been a vocal critic of Zelenskyy. The presidency in turn has accused Klitschko\u2019s office of inefficiencies.<\/p>\n
It is unclear who might replace Zaluzhnyi and if his successor would command the same level of respect from Ukraine\u2019s troops and foreign defense leaders. His firing could risk degrading morale at a critical time in the war.<\/p>\n
According to Ukrainian and Western media reports, Zelenskyy asked Zaluzhnyi to resign last week, but the general refused. Zaluzhnyi has not commented publicly on the reports.<\/p>\n
Tensions between him and the president have been rising since a much anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive, which was launched in June with the help of an array of Western weapons, failed to produce major territory gains in Russian-occupied areas, disappointing allies. (AP)<\/p>\n
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KYIV, 5 Feb: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is thinking about dismissing the country\u2019s top military officer as part of a broader leadership shakeup, a possibility that has shocked the nation fighting a war to end Russia\u2019s invasion and also worried Ukraine\u2019s Western allies. Zelenskyy confirmed in an interview with Italian broadcaster RAI TV […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-233987","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233987","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}