The reasons for the emergence of rumors about Zaluzhny’s resignation and Budanov’s appointment are revealed

“Such sentiments circulate in informed circles”

Ukrainian politician Georgy Tuka said that Vladimir Zelensky intends to remove Valery Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and appoint Kirill Budanov, chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate, in his place. According to Tuka, he was informed about this by sources close to the Special Operations Forces and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “MK” is looking into how this is a possible development of events.

According to Georgy Tuka, the fact that it was Budanov who accompanied Zelensky at the World Economic Forum in Davos is a signal about the imminent appointment of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Thus, the head of Ukraine introduced him to Western partners. Zaluzhny, according to Tuka, is going to be offered a position in the National Security and Defense Council.

And the Ukrainian media, citing anonymous sources, write that Zelensky, secretly from everyone, at the headquarters held in Kyiv, decided to remove Zaluzhny from his duties without providing a place in the National Security and Defense Council.

At the beginning of November, there were already rumors about Zaluzhny’s resignation. As the people’s deputy from Eurosolidarity Vladimir Aryev reported then, the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Umerov introduced a motion to dismiss the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny. However, soon after this, Sergei Leshchenko from Zelensky’s office denied the news about the impending resignation of the commander-in-chief, and Aryev himself deleted his scandalous posts.

Let us recall that they began to talk about the confrontation between Zelensky and Zaluzhny after the interview of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for The Economist, which was criticized by the President of Ukraine. Some time after these conversations appeared, the assistant commander-in-chief was killed in an explosion, and some Ukrainian politicians began to intensely criticize Zaluzhny’s actions. For example, Danilov’s statements that “people who do not believe in victory have no place in power and command.” Zelensky himself, when asked about the conflict during his press conference, gave an ambiguous answer: “We have a working relationship with Zaluzhny. There are a number of questions… This is a complex question. Something was there, something wasn’t. Complicated story.”

We asked political scientist and journalist for the Ukraina.ru publication Vasily Stoyakin whether the rumors about Zaluzhny’s resignation could be true:

“Georgiy Tuka is a person from circles close to the informed. He is quite a famous person. Although the information that comes from him does not necessarily have to be true. Maybe, of course, he has his own political interests in this, but he is too insignificant a figure for that. Most likely, he really conveys the general sentiments that circulate in informed circles about the conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhny.

Regarding the conflict, news has just appeared that, according to Zelensky, there is no need to mobilize half a million people. On the one hand, this is an attempt to disown public discontent, which is now great in Ukraine. On the other hand, this is a direct “entry” into the commander-in-chief’s area of ​​responsibility, which he had not previously allowed himself to do. And this is not the first time. In general, relations there are really tense. In this case, if the owners can be persuaded, then Zaluzhny may indeed be dismissed. Moreover, recently, purely visually, he began to appear in public much less often.”