The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s army, General Valery Zaluzhny, criticized the slow pace of debate on the mobilization bill in comments published by CNN on Thursday. The “Iron General” also said that his country must adapt to cuts in military aid from its main allies and focus more and more on technology if it is to win the war against Russia, after press reports that he could be fired , writes Reuters.

In the article published by CNN, General Zaluzhny does not mention either the break with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi or the possibility of his resignation from the post. The American publication said that Zaluzhny wrote the article before “the expected announcement of his dismissal.”

CNN previously cited a source who said Zelenskyy was expected to announce Zaluzhnyi’s firing within days, in what would be the largest personnel reshuffle in the Ukrainian military amid a full-scale Russian invasion.

Earlier, the high-ranking president stated that there was no decision to release Zaluzhnyi “as of today” and urged not to politicize this issue.

Challenge to the Ukrainian army

In his article, Zaluzhny said Ukraine must find new ways and opportunities to gain an advantage over Russia as full-scale war soon enters its third year.

“The challenge to our armed forces cannot be underestimated. This is the creation of a completely new state system of technological rearmament,” the Ukrainian general wrote.

“Considering everything at the moment, we believe that the creation of such a system can be completed in five months. Our partners share the same opinion,” Zaluzhny also noted.

The head of the Ukrainian army emphasized the need for his country to produce more drones.

“Importantly, these unmanned systems, such as drones, along with other advanced weapons, are what provide the best way for Ukraine to avoid being drawn into a positional war where we have no advantage,” Zaluzhny also wrote.

State institutions criticized by Zaluzhny

But the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army criticized, in his words, the “inability” of Ukrainian state institutions to raise the level of soldiers.

“We must recognize the significant advantage that the enemy has in mobilizing human resources and compare this with the inability of Ukrainian state institutions to raise the level of our Armed Forces without resorting to unpopular measures,” the army commander added.

This remark turned out to be a serious indictment of the attempt to reform the process of military mobilization in Ukraine, which for weeks did not pass in the parliamentary committee for discussion by legislators.

He also criticized the “imperfection” of the country’s regulatory framework and the partial “monopoly” of the defense industry, which he said had led to production bottlenecks in areas such as ammunition.

Zaluzhny, who some call the “Iron General,” acknowledged that Kyiv had to deal with declining military support from key allies, which he said was the cause of his own political tensions.

“Our partners’ stockpiles of missiles, air defense equipment, and artillery ammunition are running out due to the intensity of hostilities in Ukraine, as well as the global shortage of powder charges,” Zaluzhny said.

During the war with Russia, Zaluyny occasionally wrote articles in the Western press and, as in his last article in November, again emphasized the need for technological progress on the battlefield.

“Our goal must be to seize the moment — to maximize our accumulation of the latest warfighting capabilities, allowing us to devote fewer resources to doing maximum damage.”