Ukraine’s Zelensky dismisses idea of rift with army chief, but wants more ‘concrete’ gains
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Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky holding a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec 19 dismissed suggestions of a rift with army chief Valery Zaluzhny but said he still wants to see “very concrete things” from the military leadership.
His remarks come amid weeks of public speculation about tensions between the two men after Kyiv’s vaunted counteroffensive failed to retake significant parts of Russian-occupied territory.
“Why should I help someone by developing this theme? I have a working relationship with Zaluzhny,” Mr Zelensky said during a televised press conference in Kyiv.
He described the military operation as a “very complicated story” involving the collective input of Ukraine’s military leadership.
General Zaluzhny wrote in The Economist in November that the 21-month-old war with Russia had reached a stalemate, drawing a rebuke from the President’s office.
The idea of a battlefield stalemate is highly sensitive in Ukraine, where officials are opposed to any negotiations with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin until his troops fully withdraw.
Mr Zelensky avoided directly criticising Gen Zaluzhny, but also did not explicitly extend his full support for the top general.
“I am waiting for very concrete things on the battlefield,” he said of Ukraine’s General Staff.
“The strategy is clear – we have an understanding of our actions. I want to see details. I think that’s fair.”
Mr Zelensky also said the military had asked for an additional 450,000 to 500,000 people to be mobilised into the army, but that a final decision had not been taken. REUTERS
