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Ukrainian President Zelensky, General Salushny (with cap) in November 2023

Photo: Ukrainian Presidential Press Service / REUTERS

Ukraine is fighting the Russian invaders in the second winter of the war. The Russians are currently on the rise again. A major Ukrainian counteroffensive failed last year. There are now apparently significant tensions between the government and the army leadership in connection with these futile efforts in the summer of 2023.

As the British "Guardian" reports, among others, President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to depose the commander-in-chief of his armed forces. Accordingly, he asked Valeriy Saluschny to vacate his post on Monday. The problem: The general allegedly refuses.

The Guardian relies on the Ukrainian MP Oleksii Goncharenko in its report. He is said to be close to the general. The Financial Times also reported the incident, citing four people familiar with the matter.

Goncharenko told the Guardian: “Personally, I think it’s a bad idea. There are no fundamental disagreements between the two. But for Zelensky's office, Salushny's statements are too political and not military enough." The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has rejected the speculation.

In fact, General Saluzhny is considered popular in the country. Quite a few people credit him with political ambitions as well as military ones.

In November he wrote a guest article for the British Economist. In it he compared the fighting to those in the First World War: heavy and bloody, but static. This will benefit Russia. "It can rebuild its military forces," said the general, and ultimately "threaten the Ukrainian army and the state itself" again.

He also used the phrase “stalemate” to describe the situation on the fronts. President Zelensky clearly rejected this assessment.

It is still unclear what will happen next at the top of the army. According to the Guardian, there is speculation in the Ukrainian media that Zelensky could throw the general out without further ado. For this he would need the support of the Ministry of Defense.

Repeated attacks from the air

Russia attacked the neighboring country in February 2022. Most recently, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Russians fired a total of 35 attack drones and two guided missiles that were aimed at energy and military facilities near the front line and in other Ukrainian regions. The Ukrainian air defense systems destroyed 15 of the 35 drones, the air force said on the messaging app Telegram. It was still unclear what happened to the drones and the two missiles.

Kiev had already reported Russian attacks with swarms of combat drones on Tuesday night. There was an air alert in all parts of the country in the east and south of Ukraine.

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