President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Thursday that he met with the army commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny and that it was time for a change in the military leadership, but he offered the general to remain “on his team.”

The announcement comes after months of speculation about differences between Zelenskyi and Zaluzhny, who many Ukrainians consider a national hero for leading the military operation since February 2022.

• “I met with General Valery Zaluzhny. I thanked him for two years of protecting Ukraine. We discussed the renewal that is needed in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. We also discussed who can join the renewed leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The time has come for such an update. I offered General Zalujna to stay in the team. We will definitely win!”, the Ukrainian president wrote on Twitter next to a photo in which he is depicted together with the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Ukrainian Pravda” cites sources as saying that the President’s Office is preparing a decree on the dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The meeting with journalists is scheduled for 18.30. and the decree of dismissal should appear tonight.

According to the sources of “Ukrainian Pravda”, Zaluzhny informed his entourage about his resignation.

We will remind, in an interview that was broadcast on Sunday, the Ukrainian president said that he is considering the possibility of replacing several high-ranking officials, and not only from the army, in order to determine who will lead the country.

• “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.

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

The Financial Times notes in the article that replacing Zaluzhny could cause a scandal in the army and civil society of Ukraine, among which 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 cause concern 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 were clear, we simply will not interfere in this decision”