Volodymyr Zelensky's view that there needed to be a reset among his top brass has raised questions over what consequences such a move would have for the Ukrainian president politically and for the fight he leads against Russia.
Zelensky made the comments to Italian broadcaster RAI, following speculation he was about to fire his commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhny, only to reverse the decision after pressure from military commanders and international partners. Newsweek has emailed the Ukrainian Defense Ministry for comment.
In response to the interview, the X, formerly Twitter, account Ukraine Front Lines posted, "does he not have enough courage to say it in Ukrainian? Interesting tactic. Why Italian? Why not to @RT_com?" referring to the Russian state broadcaster.
Reports of a rift between Zelensky and his commander-in-chief increased after Zaluzhny's comments to U.K. publication The Economist in November that the war had reached a stalemate, an assessment that the president rejected days later.
British newspaper The Times said Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, and then the commander of Ukraine's land forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky, rejected taking over, forcing Zelensky to backtrack.
Zelensky told Rai on Sunday that changes went beyond replacing a single person "but the direction of the country's leadership."
"A reset is necessary," Zelensky said, according to Reuters, without mentioning Zaluzhny by name. "I am talking about a replacement of a number of state leaders, not only in the army sector."
Viktor Kovalenko, defense analyst and a former Ukrainian soldier, told Newsweek that morale in the country's military has already been hit hard by the speculation over Zaluzhny's future. He added that Ukraine's allies will be worried about replacing a commander who had built such a good relationship with Western militaries.
"That's the real problem because President Zelensky has a short bench of charismatic replacements able to fulfill such a versatile and crucial role," Kovalenko said.
"When I served in the Ukrainian military, there was a saying that it's more important who is your commander than what detachment you serve or what rifle you carry. The Ukrainian troops recognize General Zaluzhny as a person of their own."
Kovalenko said the general also enjoyed "popularity in society because Ukrainian mothers and wives trust that he won't send their sons and husbands to die in vain as Russian commander Valery Gerasimov does.
"Zaluzhny also competes in popularity with Zelensky and it worries the presidential team," Kovalenko added.
A poll by the Kyiv International Institute for Sociology (KMIS) in December found that Ukrainians' support for Zelensky fell from 84 percent at the end of 2022 to 62 percent at the end of 2023.
Meanwhile, 96 percent of respondents supported the Ukrainian armed forces and 88 percent trusted Zaluzhny, who last week wrote for CNN that there was a reluctance in Kyiv to get fully behind his call for greater mobilization.
Zaluzhny took aim at "the inability of state institutions in Ukraine to improve the manpower levels of our armed forces without the use of unpopular measures." The op-ed also said Kyiv must adapt to a reduction in military aid from allies and focus ever more on technology to defeat Russia.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
