Russian newspaper: Western desire to replace Zelensky as commander of the Ukrainian army

The Russian newspaper "Gazeta"

in which it said that the United States and other Western countries want to replace the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The newspaper quoted Scott Ritter, a retired US intelligence officer, as saying that Volodymyr Zelensky has no place in the US plans, and that Zaluzhny is the party that will conclude a peace treaty with Russia.

Ritter added that the West put Zelensky on the sidelines, focusing instead on Zaluzhny as the future president of Ukraine due to "Zelinsky's loss of his previous influence, and his inability to significantly influence the course of the armed conflict." Therefore, Western media are increasingly promoting Zaluzhny.

The report indicated that what was reported about Ritter in this regard is not the first of its kind, as the media had previously touched on the possibility of Zaluzhny assuming the presidency of Ukraine.

Conflict between the two Ukrainian parties

The Ukrainian media had indicated that a conflict broke out between Zelensky and Zaluzhny following the latter's criticism of the president over the poor supply of weapons to Ukrainian forces and other issues related to the army.

Ritter said that a group of reports stated that a meeting at the Ramstein Air Base of the US forces in western Germany, in which US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and US Chief of Staff General Mark Milley participated, discussed a proposal to replace Zaluzhny with Zelensky.

The German newspaper "Bild" had reported that rumors about Zaluzhny's ambitions worried Zelensky, and pointed to the leadership qualities and military prowess of the former, while the Polish newspaper "Gazeta Wiborczka" praised him, and the "Financial Times" called him the "Iron General".

However, the Russian newspaper report quoted Andrei Manuelo, a retired brigadier general from one of the Russian intelligence agencies and an expert in electronic warfare and information warfare, as saying that the information about the possible presidency of Zaluzhny was fabricated by Westerners to bring Zelensky to his senses so that he "knows his place" and does not take independent steps without referring to Washington. .