That’s why Zelensky throws out his army chief – the analysis: Saluzhni’s dismissal is a sign of weakness

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Crack in the Ukrainian government: Volodymyr Selensky (45) gives up his army leader Valery Zalushni (50). The trained mechanical engineer has been Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2021 and has achieved several major successes in the war against the Russian attackers. This includes in particular the defense of the capital Kiev at the beginning of the war.

Ultimately, however, there were open arguments between Zelensky and his general. Rumors of Salushni’s removal had been circulating for about a week. On Tuesday evening the time had come: the Ukrainian president thanked his deposed general on the Telegram news service for “every victory we have achieved together” and announced that he had replaced Saluschni with Alexander Sirski (58), the previous commander of the Ukrainian country. forces.

Saluzhni’s removal reveals three unpleasant truths for Ukraine.

The former TV star and lawyer Selenski was once considered virtually untouchable. Internationally, the Ukrainian president, who has been in power since 2019, has become an over-politician, with the red carpet being rolled out from Warsaw to Washington. However, back home in Ukraine, his popularity ratings have fallen rapidly recently.

The polls on General Salushni looked completely different. While only 62 percent of Ukrainians surveyed recently said they would count on Zelensky, 88 percent of respondents expressed confidence in Zalushni. The general published op-eds and appeared to cast himself as a political figure in the presidential elections scheduled for this year.

Zelensky clearly didn’t like that. He does not want to hold elections this year. Oleksij Danilov (61), the head of Zelensky’s war council, recently emphasized in an interview with ‘Blick’ that it was ‘an impossibility’ to hold political elections in the middle of the war.

In November, Salushni claimed in an interview with the British magazine The Economist that there was a “standstill” on the war front and that Ukraine was in danger of falling into the trap of perpetual war. Zelensky vehemently denied this claim – including during his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.

Nearly two years after the start of the war, Zelensky also has to admit that “changes in the basis of our defense” are necessary if 2024 is to be a successful year. The shortage of ammunition and the threat of help from by far its most important ally, the US, are forcing Ukraine to reconsider its approach. The standstill is reality. To prevent it from becoming a Russian success, in Zelensky’s view, new minds and forces are obviously needed at the head of the largest defense operation in Europe since the Second World War.

The situation at the front in Ukraine is increasingly resembling the trench warfare of the First World War. Both sides are stuck, unable to make any progress, and are devoting their energies to expanding their fortifications. However, without breaking through Russian lines, Ukraine cannot win the war against the overwhelmingly powerful attacker.

Ukrainian soldiers last broke through in the autumn of 2022 in the region around the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Responsible for the surprising success at the time: army commander Alexander Sirski, who now made Selenski commander-in-chief.

The expectations are clear: Sirski should deliver the miracle that Saluschni could not deliver. There is enormous pressure on the shoulders of the man who completed his military training at the Soviet Military Command School in Moscow in 1982. He must deliver, and soon.

Source: Blick