White House informed by Ukraine of plan to remove top commander

The Ukrainian government has notified the White House of its intention to remove the nation’s top military commander, who is in charge of managing the fight against Russian occupation forces, as per reports based on sources.

The decision to remove General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who has disagreements with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on a number of matters, comes after a counteroffensive by Ukraine last year that was unable to retake a sizable portion of territory held by Russia.

According to a source close to Zelenskiy’s office, the president is against Zaluzhnyi’s plan to mobilize an additional 500,000 troops, and the two are at odds over this new military mobilization drive.

The source, however, added that the process for relieving Zaluzhnyi of his post as the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces was on hold for the time being as the sides work out their next steps.

It was unclear how long that process would take, added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A second knowledgeable source said that the White House did not express a position on the plan to replace Zaluzhnyi.

“I would emphasize that the White House response was that we did not support or object to their sovereign decision,” said the source, who requested anonymity in order to discuss the issue.

“The White House expressed that it is up to Ukraine to make its own sovereign decisions about its personnel,” the source continued.

The Washington Post was first to report that Ukraine had informed the White House of the plan to fire Zaluzhnyi.
U.S. officials told Ukraine that they were not opposed to the firing of Zaluzhnyi, said the source close to the Ukrainian president’s office.

“The U.S. is okay with Ukraine firing him,” said the source.

“Right now, both sides (the president and the general) have taken a pause in determining what the future will look like, and for now the status quo will remain until further notice,” the source said.

The source said the frictions between Zelenskiy and Zaluzhnyi over mobilization involved the president’s view that the military has enough personnel that could be used more efficiently.

“Zaluzhnyi insists on mobilising half a million men. Zelenskiy thinks that’s not necessary now,” the source said.
Zaluzhnyi on Thursday published a column on the CNN website in which he wrote that the government had failed to mobilize enough troops.

Known as “the Iron General,” Zaluzhnyi is extremely popular. His removal could hurt morale among Ukrainian troops battling to hold positions along more than 620 miles (1,000 km) of frontlines against a vast Russian force armed with large munitions stockpiles.

Ukrainian forces are experiencing shortages of critical ammunition. Supplies from the United States, the country’s largest arms provider, have run down, and a dispute between the White House and some Republican lawmakers has
stalled approval of a new aid package.

A flurry of Western and Ukrainian media reports said that Zaluzhnyi rejected Zelenskiy’s request that he step aside this week.

The plan to replace Zaluzhnyi despite his popularity and ability as an inspiring commander may signal Kyiv’s desire for a fresh approach to the conflict.

(with inputs from Reuters)