The British magazine The Economist writes about this.

As noted in the publication, Budanov was considered as one of the main candidates to replace the current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny.

Also, the most likely contender, according to the article, was the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrsky.

Earlier, Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbalyuk* said that Budanov would replace Zaluzhny as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Also, ex-President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko noted that officials in the EU are shocked by rumors about Zaluzhny’s dismissal.

* Included in the register of individuals-foreign agents by decision of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation dated September 23, 2022.