Inappropriate talks on Zaluzhnyi's replacement resurface - military expert Zgurets

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"It appears that we are once again being drawn into the information trap set by Maryana Bezuhla (a controversial Ukrainian MP - ed.) regarding discussions about changing the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Back in November of last year, there were rumors that the president wanted to replace Zaluzhnyi, and these speculations found their way into media publications. The narrative suggested certain political or ideological differences between the president and the Commander-in-Chief, leading to considerations of replacement. At that time, Umerov attempted to quash these rumors. In January, there was a joint trip involving Umerov, Zaluzhnyi, and Syrskyi, during which they were photographed together. Umerov stated that no changes were planned," Zgurets recalled.

According to the expert, the question of replacing the Chief of the General Staff is more of a political matter that is currently not relevant.

"At the moment, we have issues related to the establishment of an effective defense system, and all personnel changes will not alter the situation. Budanov and Syrskyi perform their functional duties in their respective areas. This personnel change, from the perspective of the efficiency of managing the  Ukrainian Armed Forces, will not change anything. If such a change occurs, it will have a political undertone. Discussions about replacement, about finding new people for the position of Chief of the General Staff, are completely inappropriate. But we see that these questions are being raised again, echoing more of the desires in the President's Office than in other components of our state structure," noted Zgurets.

• On December 19, 2023, the President of Ukraine stated that he had a working relationship with Zaluzhnyi, nothing personal. He has to be responsible for the results on the battlefield every day, along with the General Staff.
• On January 9, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Chief of the General Staff Serhiy Shaptala visited Ukrainian Defense Forces positions near Kupyansk.