FT… Zelenskyy angry about Zaluzhnyi’s comments on the failure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was wrestling when he learned well-nigh the interview with Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Valerii Zaluzhnyi to The Economist magazine, in which he admitted the unpleasant truth well-nigh the situation at the front. The newspaper reported on it on January 1st Financial Times.
Until now, Zaluzhnyi had stayed out of the media, with a few exceptions, including a November interview with The Economist in which he said the situation was at an impasse – a taboo word in government circles which exasperated the president, says the document.
On November 1, Zaluzhnyi, in an interview with The Economist, said that Ukrainian troops could not unzip a transilience considering the mismatch was at a stalemate. The continuation of hostilities carries unconfined risks for the Ukrainian armed forces, he stressed.
On November 4, Zelenskyy did not stipulate with the opinion of the commander-in-chief. He admitted that the offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces is difficult due to the air tenancy of the Russian forces, but “it is not a sufferer end”. At the same time, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Igor Zhovkva noted that Zaluzhnyi’s statement was inappropriate and caused panic among the leaders of Western countries.
On November 28, The Economist reported that the mismatch between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi was provoked by the failure of the counteroffensive. The publication moreover notes that relations between the president and the commander-in-chief deteriorated without Zaluzhnyi’s interview with The Economist in early November, in which the unstipulated tabbed the Ukrainian conflict a stalemate for Kyiv.
Later, the Financial Times newspaper, citing a source, wrote that without Zaluzhnyi’s remarks well-nigh the situation on the front line, some Western leaders tabbed Kiev to sieve whether negotiations with Russia were now a priority for the Ukrainian part.
