The primary rumors of a feud and Zaluzhny’s imaginable ousting started circulating on the finish of 2022, when media reported Zelenskyy used to be mulling changing Zaluzhny with Ukraine’s Land Forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky, observed as extra pleasant to the president.
Zelenskyy additionally sees Basic Zaluzhny as a possible political rival.
Even if presidential elections were behind schedule because of the battle, Zaluzhny is one thing of a folks hero in Ukraine — which might translate into electoral energy.
“Thus far, Zaluzhny has now not made up our minds to go into politics, however he is thinking about this selection, and the president’s place of work is afraid,” the individual accustomed to the talks mentioned.
A December ballot discovered that public agree with in Zelenskyy is sagging, right down to 62 p.c in comparison to 84 p.c a 12 months previous — even if he’s nonetheless the top-ranked flesh presser in Ukraine. In the meantime, amongst public figures, Zaluzhny used to be relied on through 88 p.c of the ones polled this previous December.
Some other ballot through the Kyiv World Institute of Sociology discovered that Zaluzhny used to be essentially the most relied on of Ukraine’s senior commanders.
The chance of tensions on the peak as Ukraine fights an existential battle is dismaying Ukrainians. Greater than 70 p.c would react negatively if Zelenskyy fires Zaluzhny, the ballot discovered.
Matt Berg reported from Washington and Veronika Melkozerova from Kyiv.
