The Ukrainian government has informed the White House that it plans to remove the country’s top military commander responsible for the conflict against Russian occupation forces, sources revealed on Friday.
The decision to dismiss General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who has clashed with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy over military strategy and other matters, comes after a Ukrainian counteroffensive last year failed to reclaim significant amounts of Russian-held territory.
A source close to Zelenskiy’s office indicated that the disagreement also extends to a proposed military mobilization drive, with the president opposing Zaluzhnyi’s suggestion to call up 500,000 fresh troops.
Nevertheless, the process of relieving Zaluzhnyi of his role as the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces is currently on hold while officials consider who his replacement should be.
A second knowledgeable source stated 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 first reported that Ukraine had informed the White House of the plan to fire Zaluzhnyi.
U.S. officials informed Ukraine that they did not oppose the dismissal of Zaluzhnyi, according to the source close to the Ukrainian president’s office.
“The U.S. is okay with Ukraine firing him,” the source said.
There were no details on the timeline for the plan. “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.
(Writing by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Leslie Adler and Cynthia Osterman)
