Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny on his Facebook page* announced the cancellation by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the order banning those liable for military service from leaving their place of residence without the permission of the military registration and enlistment office.
According to the military leader, the high-profile document is awaiting revision.
Zaluzhny stressed that the legislative framework of Ukraine does not provide effective mobilization mechanisms.
At the same time, he explained that the document initially dealt exclusively with the internal work of the territorial recruitment centers (TCC) and social support (SP) and did not restrict the rights of citizens.
However, the publication of the message of the General Staff on the network led to numerous manipulations, discrepancies and illegal actions to prevent the movement of citizens, which became the basis for discrediting the army and the military-political leadership of Ukraine, Zaluzhny noted.
“Therefore, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in order to prevent further manipulations around this issue, decided to cancel the order and send it for revision.
The updated document will be developed on the basis of changes in the laws of Ukraine and by-laws regulating the movement of citizens under martial law,” the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
"Worrying"
Recall that on the afternoon of July 5, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine posted on its page a message about the development of a new procedure for granting permission to citizens to travel outside their place of residence from the moment mobilization was announced and in wartime.
The document concerned Ukrainians registered with the TCC and the Joint Venture.
The military department stated that the exit permit would be issued for a period of 30 days to one year.
At the same time, it did not provide detailed information on how a permit can be obtained and under what circumstances a citizen can freely leave the locality where he is registered.
Training of recruits in Ukraine
© General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
As justification, the General Staff referred to the norms of the law "On military duty and military service", which have been in force since 1992.
Nevertheless, the document caused stormy criticism from the public and political forces of Ukraine.
In particular, the deputy of the pro-presidential party "Servant of the People" Roksolana Pidlas called the decision of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stupidity, which "will cause a social explosion and the collapse of the economy."
Doubts about the legality and adequacy of the document on his Facebook page were also expressed by the Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets.
According to the official, the authors of the order neglected the principle of the rule of law and created a real threat to the observance of the constitutional rights and freedoms of citizens.
“The lack of clear regulation in the order regarding the borders of the region, for travel outside of which such a permit is required, and the purpose of such a trip, is cause for concern.
The order also does not provide for emergency cases when departure for a person liable for military service is urgent and does not require delay (death or illness of relatives, urgent business trips, etc.),” wrote Lubinets.
Against the backdrop of a negative socio-political resonance in an address to citizens on the evening of July 5, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the General Staff acted without his knowledge and promised to look into the situation.
“I instructed the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to report all the details to me during tomorrow's regular meeting of the Supreme Commander's Headquarters - one of the items on the agenda.
I promise the people to look into this.
And I ask the General Staff not to make such decisions without me in the future,” Zelensky said.
According to Ukrainian media, the meeting, which was announced by the President of Ukraine, took place on July 6.
On it, Zelensky heard Zaluzhny’s report on the sensational order of the General Staff and instructed to cancel it.
Reasons for discrepancies
According to experts interviewed by RT, conflicting statements regarding the order to ban those liable for military service from leaving their place of residence without the permission of the military registration and enlistment office are a consequence of the conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhny.
“The reason for the discrepancies is in the conflict between the President of Ukraine and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It is difficult for me to say who actually approved this document.
It could have been Zelensky himself, who is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and has recently taken over the actual control of the armed forces, ”Vladimir Evseyev, head of the SCO Eurasian Integration and Development Department at the Institute of CIS Countries, said in an interview with RT.
The political scientist does not exclude that in this way Zelensky shifted responsibility to the military elite of Ukraine, including Zaluzhny.
And after the emergence of an extremely negative reaction from society, the Ukrainian leader decided to declare that the document had not been agreed with him.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting with the military
© president.gov.ua
“It is likely that the decision of Zelensky himself, which caused a sharp negative reaction in society, is now being whitewashed.
We observe that in the conditions of martial law in Ukraine, totalitarian tendencies are intensifying.
In general, this plays into the hands of Zelensky.
And this order with a ban on leaving the place of residence without the order of the military registration and enlistment office is in line with the policy of the Ukrainian leader, ”says Evseev.
In a conversation with RT, the president of the Center for System Analysis and Forecasting, Rostislav Ishchenko, expressed the view that the initiative of the controversial order still belonged to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to the expert, Zelensky simply took advantage of the negative reaction of society to discredit Zaluzhny and other Ukrainian military leaders.
“I would not say that we are witnessing a performance played by the Ukrainian president.
The sensational document of the General Staff reflects the realities of the military situation in Ukraine and is aimed at meeting its mobilization needs.
Of course, the unpopularity of this order in society is understandable and understandable.
It seems to me that Zelensky only supported the public discontent that had arisen, ”Ishchenko suggested.
According to the expert, in the situation with the order of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Zelensky tried to remind that he is the guarantor of the Constitution, acting as a defender of the rights of citizens from "gross encroachments" on them by the military leadership.
"Internal Struggle"
At the public level, Ukrainian officials deny problems in the interaction between Zelensky and the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On July 6, after a meeting with the leadership of the armed forces, the president told reporters that the resonant order of the General Staff allegedly did not affect relations with the military elite.
“As for possible misunderstandings between me and the General Staff, there are no misunderstandings.
This is a small mistake compared to the greater unity that we demonstrate in the face of the Russian threat.
It's just a trifle.
This is about nothing, ”Ukrainska Pravda quotes Zelensky.
However, experts are sure that such a statement by the President of Ukraine is intended to hide the growing depth of the conflict with the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has been discussed in the media and Telegram channels for several weeks.
“There is a real struggle between Zelensky and Zaluzhny for the support of society.
No one from the Kyiv regime is going to take responsibility for the heavy defeats in the Donbass and the inability to turn the tide in other directions, ”Rostislav Ishchenko emphasized.
At the end of June, TASS was told about disagreements due to problems at the front, Vitaly Kiselyov, Assistant Minister of the Interior of the LPR.
“There is information that Zelensky is asking Zaluzhny why the troops don’t want to fight, why the troops don’t recapture Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, and why there are so many drivers, cooks and signalers in the army,” Kiselyov said.
A few days later, ex-deputy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ilya Kiva distributed similar information on his Telegram channel.
The politician claims that Zelensky instructed the head of the Counterintelligence Department of the SBU, Oleksandr Poklad, to “find or form a case of accusations” against Zaluzhny in connection with the loss of territories.
Ukrainian military
© General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
“Zelensky’s office is well aware that in the near future a scapegoat is needed for a society in which discontent and distrust of the authorities are growing more and more,” Kiva wrote.
According to the ex-deputy, the military command of Ukraine is aware of the impending provocations by the presidential office and is preparing "countermeasures."
In particular, the military leaders entered into negotiations with Petro Poroshenko, who is a defendant in the treason case.
Kiva believes that in Ukraine "the active phase of the internal struggle begins."
In addition to the defeats at the front, another reason for criticism of Zaluzhny was the shortage of body armor in parts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This was previously reported by Ukrainian journalists Yuriy Butusov and Sergei Vysotsky, disloyal to the presidential office.
They recalled that according to Ukrainian legislation, the Minister of Defense is directly responsible for supplying the army.
This person is Aleksey Reznikov, who does not have a military rank.
However, Zelensky does not speak negatively about his work.
From Ishchenko's point of view, the Ukrainian leader is looking for every opportunity to undermine Zaluzhny's authority, including in the army.
However, such a conflicting approach can seriously weaken the morale of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Volodymyr Evseev believes that Zelensky is aware of the inevitability of a military catastrophe, but his primary goal is to succeed in the growing internal struggle.
“Zelensky once again seeks to clear the political field from any competitors.
Now it is important for him to relieve himself of guilt, not to cause aggression among the nationalists and to convince people that only the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is to blame for the defeats, ”summed up Evseev.
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