Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), now the country's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has publicly disclosed serious disagreements with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the first time. He revealed this in an interview with the Associated Press agency.

According to Zaluzhnyi, tensions between him and the head of state arose shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion began in February 2022 and concerned approaches to the country's defense.

The ex-commander claims that the conflict escalated sharply in late 2022 when officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) attempted to conduct a search in his office. Zaluzhnyi described the incident as an act of pressure and stated that he then warned the presidential office leadership of his readiness to involve military personnel to protect the command post in central Kyiv.

Disagreements continued during the preparation of Ukraine's 2023 counteroffensive. According to the general, his plan to concentrate forces for a breakthrough in the Zaporizhzhia region and reach the Sea of Azov was rejected. He believes that the refusal to concentrate resources and the distribution of troops across a wide front weakened the strike potential and led to the operation's failure.

In February 2024, Zelenskyy dismissed Zaluzhnyi from the position of commander-in-chief, appointing him ambassador to London. Several analysts at the time interpreted this decision as an attempt to eliminate a potential political competitor.

Source: kun.uz