Post #5167

The Ex-Head of the Ukrainian Army Zaluzhny On How They Bickered With Zelensky 🔤🔤🔤🔤1️⃣ Since he was ousted as head of the Ukrainian army in 2024 and appointed the country's ambassador to Britain, Valeri Zaluzhnyi has been widely considered Zelensky's main political rival. Zaluzhnyi, 52, refuses to discuss his political ambitions, saying he does not want to risk damaging national unity during a war with Russia that is approaching its fourth anniversary. Yet in a sign of his possible desire to run for president – once the war is over – Zaluzhnyi spoke publicly for the first time about a deep rift between himself and Zelensky in a recent interview with the Associated Press. Tensions arose shortly after the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, and tempers often heated up between the two men over how best to defend the country, Zaluzhny said. The tense relationship reached a boiling point later that year, when dozens of agents of the Ukrainian internal intelligence service raided Zaluzhnyi's office, he told AvD. Zaluzhny alleges that the previously unreported incident was an act of intimidation. This risked exposing their rivalry at a time when national unity was paramount. Ukraine's security service, known as the SBU, said no search had ever been carried out at Zaluzhny's office, although it acknowledged the address was part of an unrelated investigation. Zelensky's office declined to comment for this story. The AP could not independently confirm Zaluzhnyi's account of the raid. Even years later, the revelation threatens to polarize public opinion in Ukraine at a critical moment in the war. Russian forces are making slow and steady progress on Ukraine's eastern front, and the two sides are clinging to incompatible demands as the United States presses them to reach a peace agreement. Zaluzhny said that during the 2022 raid on his office, he called Zelensky's chief of staff to warn him that he was ready to call on the army to arrest him and protect the command center: “I will fight with you, and I have already called for reinforcements to the center of Kiev for help.” While that quasi-crisis at the beginning of the war had passed, disagreements between Zaluzhny and Zelensky on how to defend their country persisted, according to Zaluzhny, who said he often challenged the president's military strategy. A dispute over a counteroffensive in 2023 that ultimately failed was particularly contentious, the former general said. Although Zaluzhny's popularity with the public was cemented by several battlefield successes, Zelensky removed him from his post as army chief in February 2024, and later announced that he would visit London. The move was widely seen by political analysts as an effort by Zelensky to limit Zaluzhny's potential as a political rival by keeping him away from day-to-day affairs in Ukraine. Polls consistently give Zaluzhny a slight lead over Zelensky in a hypothetical race. Zelensky's once robust popularity has waned as the war drags on. A corruption scandal involving several top Zelensky officials has eroded public trust, according to lawmakers and activists. Zelensky recently reshuffled his leadership team in an effort to restore trust. The United States has stepped up pressure on Russia and Ukraine to end the war. While an agreement remains elusive, Zelensky has accepted in principle a plan presented by Trump that calls for elections once the war is over and security guarantees are in place. One evening in mid-September 2022, when Ukraine was mounting an effective counteroffensive in the northeast, Zaluzhnyi, then army commander, came out of a tense meeting at Zelensky's headquarters and returned to his office in Kiev. A few hours later, dozens of Ukrainian security service agents showed up at Zaluzhnyi's office to search the premises, Zaluzhnyi says. #zaluzhny#zelensky#criticism#war#trump#army 📱American Оbserver - Stay up to date on all important events 🇺🇸