A battle and a war

As his army chief's popularity surges, President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to dismiss him. The duo also has differences on the war strategy

- Mridula Ghosh

FOR A WEEK FROM January 29, speculation was rife regarding the removal of Ukraine’s army chief, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. There were anonymous quotes and leaks, especially in news and analysis from western media—most of it from military journalists, bloggers, MPs and politicians. The names of the two contenders to replace Zaluzhnyi were mentioned—General Oleksandr Syrskiy, who was instrumental in liberating Kharkiv and Kherson in 2022, and military intelligence head, General Kyrylo Budanov. But it was reported that both of them refused. Zaluzhnyi was reportedly offered the chair of the National Security Council, which he turned down. While the people of Ukraine anxiously watched, initial statements from presidential spokespersons refuted all speculation.

No sooner had the debate calmed down than it rose again, when Zelensky broke his silence. On February 5, he told Italian radio Rai 1 that he wanted to change some leading figures in the country, not only in the army. His statement broadened the horizon of the changes and the first change came that day itself with the resignation of the minister in charge of veterans’ affairs, Yulia Laputina, who was appointed in 2020.