Zaluzhny will be fired by the end of the week: CNN revealed what is happening
Date: 2024-02-01 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: POLICY
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, was summoned on Monday, January 29, to the President’s Office and informed of his dismissal.
Two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. As added, there is no official announcement yet, but a presidential decree on this matter is expected by the end of the week.
It is noted that tension between Zaluzhny and head of state Vladimir Zelensky especially increased when the general called the war with Russia a dead end in an interview with The Economist in November.
On Monday, presidential press secretary Sergei Nikiforov stressed that rumors about the dismissal of the army commander-in-chief are untrue. The Department of Defense also said this was not true. At the same time, Zelensky himself did not mention his army chief at all in his daily evening address on Monday.
According to one of the sources, at a small meeting in the OP on Monday, which was also attended by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the president said that he had “decided to dismiss the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.” During a calm conversation, Zelensky offered Zaluzhny another position, but the general refused. Then the head of state emphasized that rejecting the offer of a new job will not change the fact of removal from the current position.
CNN reached out to the Office of the President for additional comment but did not receive a response. As noted, there are now two options for a possible successor. This is the current head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Defense Ministry, Kirill Budanov, as well as the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Alexander Syrsky. None of them confirmed this.
