President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly “bypassed” Commander Valery Zaluzhnyi in communication with some military commanders, making it difficult for the latter to fully manage the Armed Forces of Ukraine, writes Ukrainian pressciting anonymous sources.

The news comes amid speculation in the Western and Ukrainian media about alleged differences between Zelensky and Zaluzhny, which attracted considerable public attention after Zaluzhny’s publication on the state of the war in The Economist.

• The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces hints that the summer offensive failed: “It was my mistake”

Instead of communicating directly with Zaluzhny, the president maintains parallel lines of communication with the heads of some branches of the military, such as the commander of the Ground Forces Oleksandr Sirskyi or the commander of the Air Force Mykola Oleschuk, sources of “Ukrainian Pravda” report.

Zaluzhny received some information from his subordinates only at meetings at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

“It seems that Zelensky has divided the Armed Forces into two groups: the “good” group, which is commanded by Syrsky and other favorites, and the “bad” group, which is subordinate to Zaluzhny,” a person from Zaluzhny’s closest circle told “Ukrainian Pravda”.

“This greatly demotivates the commander-in-chief and, most importantly, prevents him from commanding the entire army.”

Some call Zelenskyi’s military decisions politically motivated

Sources of “Ukrainian Pravda” claim that Zelenskyi sometimes makes decisions on military issues based on political motives.

An example would be the president’s dismissal of all officers of regional commissioners after reports of widespread corruption.

This caused disputes with Zaluzhny, who, recognizing the need to fight corruption, emphasized the problems of mobilization, one of the sources told “Ukrainian Pravda”.

What seemed like a quick and decisive step from a political point of view would have complicated consequences in the military sphere.

The recent personnel changes, such as the replacement of Special Operations Forces commander Viktor Gorenko, had a similar effect, writes “Ukrainian Pravda”.

Kyiv Independent could not confirm these statements.

Zelensky, who also told Ukrainians in a speech in November that now was not the time for elections during a war, called for strengthening the country and warned against a “dangerous internal struggle” that could jeopardize Kyiv’s efforts to fend off Russian encroachment.

His call was made after the comments of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, became public disagreements between the country’s political and military leadership.

The commander of the Ukrainian army presented an unpleasant situation regarding the offensive

In an editorial published by The Economist and in an interview with the publication, Zaluzhny stated that the situation at the front had reached an impasse, the general also made it clear, without stating it directly, that the offensive that Ukraine launched in June to liberate the south of the country was not succeeded

A few days later, Zelensky dismissed the idea of ​​a stalemate in the war, while his diplomatic adviser called Zaluzhny’s comments “very strange” and suggested they might be playing Russia’s games.

The idea of ​​a blockade on the front is a very sensitive topic in Kyiv, given that after the failure of peace talks with Moscow immediately after the start of the war, Zelensky refused any further negotiations until Russian troops are withdrawn from the territory of Ukraine. .

In yet another apparent breakdown in communication between Ukraine’s political and military leadership, Zelenskyi announced that he had replaced the commander of the Special Operations Forces. He said that he learned about the decision from the press, and Zaluzhny – his boss – was not informed either.