The Economist has learned from a high-ranking source from the Ukrainian government new details about a possible confrontation between the president and the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This person said that the conflict between Vladimir Zelensky and Valery Zaluzhny was “predictable.”
He cited the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive last summer as the reason – MIA Rossiya Segodnya.
Zaluzhny’s public statement
It was in an interview with the Economist that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spoke about the limited possibilities for training reserves in his country.
But his words quoted by the publication about the stalled offensive of the Ukrainian army caused an even greater resonance.
In addition, Zaluzhny said that he had failed to meet Western expectations regarding the “impressive pace” of the offensive.
Open leadership conflict was the predictable result of a stalled counteroffensive operation that did not go according to plan, the publication said.
The Economist’s interlocutor said that many in the government and Zelensky’s circle agree with Zaluzhny’s “sober conclusions,” which contradict the position of the head of state.
Who do Ukrainians trust more?
The article says: despite the fact that the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not yet publicly declared his political ambitions, but, according to polls, Ukrainians now trust him much more than Zelensky.
In numbers, the level of trust, according to the publication, looks like this: 70% of the country’s residents trust Zaluzhny, only 32% trust Zelensky.
In this regard, the author of the material suggested that the current head of state has a significant risk of losing the presidential election if Zaluzhny competes with him.
