Valery Zalouzhny, commander-in-chief of the armies and now rival of Volodymyr Zelensky

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armies is increasingly asserting himself as a potential political rival for the charismatic president. Because Valery Zalouzhny’s popularity is growing, despite the difficulties on the front of the war against Russia.

It is the story of a rivalry between two men, in the heart of war. In Ukraine, on the one hand, there is Volodymyr Zelensky, the charismatic president and warlord who has emerged, for many, since the invasion of his country by Russia. On the other, there is the one responsible for leading the counter-offensive on the ground, Valery Zaloujny, commander-in-chief of the armies. The first sees in the second a potential political rival.

To understand the rivalry, now open, between the two men, you just have to go to the souvenir shops of kyiv. They sell toilet paper printed with the face of Vladimir Putin, khaki sweaters from the Ukrainian army with, not the portrait of Volodymyr Zelensky, but the round face of Valery Zalouzhny. At 50, Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, considered the savior of kyiv, is probably the most popular man in the country. He speaks frankly, he is calm and capable of empathy, assure the soldiers on the front who have absolute confidence in him.

Rumors of dissension between the two men

His uncompromising pragmatism is also appreciated at the rear, where criticism of Volodymyr Zelensky is increasingly being felt in the face of Ukraine’s policies. Volodymyr Zelensky is unable to obtain the help that his chief of staff is asking for, this more technological weaponry considered by the army as vital to finally shift the balance of power in this counter-offensive where the Russian army , she seems to have no limits. Valery Zaloujny therefore asked for it directly at the beginning of November in an interview with Financial Timesbypassing its leader, the Ukrainian president, and giving credence to rumors of dissension between the two men.

Valery Zaloujny also criticized Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday December 26 on the delicate subject of mobilization. Last week, the Ukrainian president first shifted the responsibility for wanting to mobilize half a million additional men onto the latter, an announcement which sowed anxiety among the population. Valery Zalouzhny finally responded that he did not see the point in talking about this kind of figure publicly at this stage. He also regretted the inefficiency of the conscription services. Conscription is limited by corruption, knowing that the population rightly criticizes Volodymyr Zelensky for not radically tackling the subject.