Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview broadcast on Sunday that he is considering replacing several high-ranking officials, and not just the military, to determine who will lead the country, Reuters reported.

• “This is an issue that concerns the people who are supposed to rule Ukraine,” Zelenskyy told Italian state broadcaster RAI when asked about widespread speculation that he was going to fire Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzhny.
• “A reboot is needed, I’m talking about replacing a number of state leaders, not only in the military sphere. I am thinking about this replacement. This is a question for the entire leadership of the country.”
• “If we want to win, we all have to move in the same direction, confident of victory, we can’t get discouraged, we can’t give up, we have to have the right positive energy… that’s why I’m talking about a reset, a replacement. I mean something serious that concerns not one person, but the leadership of the country,” he explained.

• PHOTO Rumors or not, what will the change of position of head of the Commissar Valery Zaluzhny mean for Ukraine / Who can replace him – FT

On Monday, Ukrainian mass media reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy offered him a new role, but the general refused.

The decision to release General Valery Zaluzhny, who quarreled with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi over military strategy and other issues, was made after Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, which failed to recapture large parts of the territory seized from Russia due to aggression, News.ro notes.

The supposed rift between the two drew heightened attention after Zaluzhnyi’s martial law interview with The Economist on Nov. 1, in which he said Ukraine was in danger of being trapped in a protracted war.

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.

On December 4, “Ukrainian Pravda” reported, citing anonymous sources, that Zelenskyi would “bypass” Zaluzhnyi in communication with some military commanders. Therefore, later the adviser to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky Mykhailo Podolyak stated that there is no reason to consider the dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

At a press conference on December 19, Zelensky insisted that he has a working relationship with Valery Zaluzhny.

“Why should I help someone by developing this topic? I have a working relationship with Zaluzhnyi,” the head of state said.

He said it’s not about personal relationships, it’s about accountability and strategy.

A source close to Zelenskyi’s office said they also disagree on a new military mobilization campaign, with the president opposing Zaluzhnyi’s proposal to call up 500,000 new soldiers.

Replacing Zaluzhny will cause a scandal both in the army and in civil society

The Financial Times notes that replacing Zaluzhny would cause outrage among the Ukrainian military and civil society, among whom the general enjoys huge support.

“It will have a very, very negative impact on [moralului] army,” Ukrainian military historian Mykhailo Zhirogov told Radio NV in Kyiv, adding the caveat that he considers these rumors to be “fabricated.”

Zaluzhny’s replacement could also raise concerns among Ukraine’s Western partners, including the military, which has worked closely with the general over the past two years to develop a strategy for fighting. And this will happen at a critical moment in the war, when Kyiv is waiting to see if it will receive billions of dollars in critical military and financial aid from the US and the EU.

Ukraine’s government has informed the White House of plans to fire the commander-in-chief of the army overseeing the war against Russian occupation forces, two sources said on Friday.

However, the US president’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the US should not interfere in the possible dismissal of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, Ukrainian Pravda reports.

“It’s not something the U.S. government should weigh one way or the other.”

He added that this is the sovereign right of Ukraine and the right of the President of Ukraine to make personnel decisions.

“We have made it clear that we are simply not going to interfere in this particular decision. We pointed this out directly to the Ukrainians,” said Sullivan.