Pair of generals head for the exit in Zelensky’s ‘reset’ of top brass
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY is poised to oust the chief of Ukraine’s General Staff as part of a wider “reset” of the country’s military leadership.
The expected sacking of General Serhii Shaptala comes after General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Kyiv’s commander-in-chief, was informed of his pending dismissal last week.
The Ukrainian president confirmed he was considering getting rid of his top military officer in an interview published late on Sunday.
Asked about the future of Gen Zaluzhnyi, Mr Zelensky told Italy’s RAI TV of an imminent reshuffle of the country’s future direction.
He said that a “reset, a new beginning is necessary” and that it was “not about a single person but about the direction of the country’s leadership”. “I’m thinking about this replacement, but you can’t say here we replaced a single person,” the Ukrainian president said.
“When we talk about this, I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military,” Mr Zelensky added.
“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.”
The online newspaper Ukrainska Pravda, citing political and military sources, reported yesterday that the leadership shake-up would include Gen Shaptala.
“Shaptala will also leave the General Staff. [The fate of ] all others is yet undecided,” one source told the outlet.
A second source said that the two Ukrainian generals could be ousted from their posts as early as “the middle of the week”.
The military leaders are close allies and have often been seen together on visits to front-line positions. Yesterday, Gen Zaluzhnyi shared a photograph of the two generals on Facebook to wish Gen Shaptala a happy birthday.
“It will still be difficult for us, but we will definitely never be ashamed,” Gen Zaluzhnyi wrote in a cryptic message to his colleague.
The commander-in-chief’s future has been up in the air since reports published late last month that Mr Zelensky warned him in a private meeting that he would be replaced. The Ukrainian president reportedly offered Gen Zaluzhnyi new roles as Ukraine’s national security adviser, or its ambassador to the Nato military alliance.
Mr Zelensky ’s comments on Sunday marked his first public intervention on the situation, which has caused uproar in the war-torn country.
Gen Zaluzhnyi enjoys the support of Western military leaders and the country’s rank and file personnel.
“This dismissal would not be appropriate now, because on the field of battle you do not change commanders,” a 31-year-old anti-tank unit commander in eastern Donetsk, near Avdiivka, said.
The soldier, who asked to be introduced by his call sign, Tiger, said that a lot depended on who would replace Gen Zaluzhnyi.
“The most popular [commanders] are those who are here and who fight alongside the lads, who sit in the trenches,” he said.
The soldier added that whoever was in charge should ensure the arrival of fresh replacement troops and a larger supply of drones – both things that Gen Zaluzhnyi has pushed for.
The importance of the identity of the next commander was echoed by Ihor, a 33-year-old company commander. “Before you fire someone from their post, especially such an important one, you need to be sure who will replace this person and what their vision is for the future of this situation,” he said.
“If our government wants to change someone, these changes should only make things better, and not worse.”
A poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found 72 per cent of Ukrainians would view the dismissal of Gen Zaluzhnyi negatively, with only 2 per cent seeing it positively.
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, denounced the sacking of Gen Zaluzhnyi, saying under his leadership “many Ukrainians truly trust the armed forces”.
Major General Kyrylo Budanov, chief of the HUR military intelligence agency, has been named as a potential successor to lead the armed forces.