(Donetsk region) For a week, the probable dismissal of the popular army chief has been on everyone’s lips in Ukraine. On the front, these rumors irritate the soldiers who have enormous respect for this man whom they consider a “father”.
The replacement of Valery Zalouzhny, whose confidence rating exceeds 90% in Ukraine, seems imminent and could, according to media reports, take place this week, against the backdrop of his strong tensions with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
After an avalanche of publications on this subject on social networks and in the media citing sources at the end of January, Mr. Zelensky confirmed this week that he was preparing a massive reshuffle of several senior officials, including the head of the armed forces.
Announced objective: “reset” the command system while the front line remains largely frozen since Kyiv’s major advances in 2022 and last summer’s counter-offensive failed.
PHOTO VALENTYN OGIRENKO, REUTERS ARCHIVES
The head of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny
But on the Eastern Front, where the situation is very difficult with a Russian army on the offensive in several sectors, government procrastination sometimes only aggravates the tensions suffered by the troops, worn out after two years of war.
“Replacing the commander during hostilities, especially when they are as intense as in our sector, is not appropriate,” said a military doctor going by the nom de guerre “Beria” and deployed in the Donetsk region. “I would rather replace the president,” says this 25-year-old man bitterly.
Another soldier going by the nom de guerre “Kit” (“cat” in Ukrainian) admits to being “irritated” by rumors about the dismissal of the commander-in-chief, especially since Mr. Zelensky has never publicly expressed what he he reproached him.
“Father” of his soldiers
The general who foiled the Kremlin’s initial plan to bring Kyiv to its knees in a matter of days “embodies our invincibility, our victory. He is already an icon for people,” said the 50-year-old soldier. “If it is a question of changing military strategy, it is normal to also change command. But it would be a shame to see a purely political decision.”
In the army, “everyone considers Zalouzhny as a father,” adds “Cowboy”, a 38-year-old soldier. “And everyone has a negative attitude toward the idea of replacing him.”
Sergeant “Lountik” explains that this situation is the subject of discussions between soldiers on the ground and harms their morale by encouraging the appearance of “all kinds of conspiracy theories”.
“The more dangerous a unit is in a situation, the more we talk about treason and conspiracy,” notes the 50-year-old man.
According to him, Zaluzhny, who has held his post since July 2021, had built a good reputation before the invasion, when he was one of the leaders of the military operation against pro-Russian separatists in the east.
A good communicator, “he was not too lazy to personally travel through all the dangerous areas” to meet the units deployed there and examine their positions, assures Lountik.
“He is a professional who understands the real situation and not just what is drawn on the map,” he adds. “Zaluzhny has the main thing, confidence. If the commander does not have the confidence, even if he is super professional, he will achieve nothing,” he warns.
Some say Mr. Zaluzhny could be replaced by military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov or ground troops commander Oleksandr Syrsky.
The first acquired a legendary aura for daring operations deep in Russia. The second led the defense of Kyiv during the first weeks of the invasion and the successful counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region in 2022.
While there are those who value their experience, for many these men seem far from being able to match Zalouzhny.
“Syrsky is poorly perceived, he is a man of the Soviet school”, cold and who does not care about human losses, explains Lountik.
But Zalouzhny or not, no one will stop fighting. ” Nothing will change. I will continue to carry out my tasks as I have done so far,” warns Vitaly, a 32-year-old soldier.