Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi gave a resonant interview, where he spoke about the failure of the 2023 counteroffensive due to a lack of resources and SBU searches in 2022, which he regarded as an act of intimidation. He said that he had warned the President's Office about his readiness to call in military personnel to protect the command center.
Political observer Hennadii Dubov, in a comment for UNN, analyzed the interview of Ukraine's Ambassador to Great Britain, Valerii Zaluzhnyi. The expert assessed whether the speech could be considered the start of an election campaign, or if it was rather an element of political criticism of the current government.
"This is not an election bid"
When asked whether the interview could be considered the beginning of an election campaign and an actual signal of "I'm running," Dubov answered quite cautiously.
I don't think this is an election bid
He noted that this is not Zaluzhnyi's first public appearance since his dismissal as commander-in-chief. This refers to previous critical interviews.
Overall, he largely repeated everything he had said before. We heard nothing new. Moreover, Zaluzhnyi criticized Zelenskyy even while serving as commander-in-chief
In his opinion, the current speech should rather be regarded as an element of broader political criticism directed at President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Perhaps this should be regarded, rather, as an element of such cumulative criticism of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which is happening today from various sides. And Zaluzhnyi, in my opinion, simply joined all those others who are trying to take advantage of the weakness of the president's position and his pre-election, so to speak, steps
Criticism from London: politics or impropriety
Dubov paid special attention to the fact that Zaluzhnyi currently holds the position of ambassador to Great Britain, meaning he is formally a representative of the presidential team.
Well, it's very strange to hear such criticism from the point of view of formal statuses, of course, we understand that this is the wrong approach. Zaluzhnyi is also part of this government
He emphasized that, from a formal point of view, commenting on internal political processes from such a position seems inappropriate.
If we are talking about a current ambassador who holds office and has official powers, then making such political statements publicly is inappropriate. After all, the President of Ukraine is an official responsible for forming and implementing the state's foreign policy. Such statements by the ambassador are illogical and strange
At the same time, he acknowledged the presence of a political component.
It is obvious that there are political reasons here. In big politics, there are always strategy, manipulation, and the struggle for positions. I agree that this is a political story and a manifestation of certain political motives. At the same time, it does not necessarily mean that he is already running for election. But, as I noted earlier, he is trying to use a certain instability in the president's positions
About the story with Yermak and SBU searches
A separate block of Zaluzhnyi's interview concerned the events of 2022, in particular mentions of pressure from the head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, and SBU searches.
Zaluzhnyi said that in response to these actions, he called Yermak and declared his readiness to act harshly. Can this be interpreted as a hint of readiness for a coup d'état?
No, he was ready for confrontation, so to speak, a tough confrontation with силові групи (power groups). There was no talk of any coup, of course
The expert emphasized that this story is not new.
He's not telling this story for the first time, actually. And it's surprising that everyone supposedly heard about it for the first time. This story is known, it was voiced at least a year ago, and possibly more
According to Dubov, the key message here is different.
It is about Zaluzhnyi trying to draw attention to this situation, in particular by mentioning Yermak's name. In my opinion, the main message is that the President's Office tried not only to influence through law enforcement agencies, but also to actually interfere in the management of the Armed Forces. At the same time, the military command made it clear that internal pressure is unacceptable. And the fact that he decided to emphasize this more actively now is already an element of a political game. Regardless of whether he runs for election or not, Zaluzhnyi sees the sociology, sees the ratings, in many of which he is in first place. And that's already politics
International image: are there risks
When asked about the impact of the interview on Ukraine's international reputation, Dubov replied that internal conflicts always resonate.
Any public internal conflicts during wartime always have international resonance. Such statements can be used as an argument to criticize Ukraine on the international arena. If desired, these stories can be quite intensively promoted and presented as a sign of instability
He added that, first of all, such arguments may come from the American side as an element of foreign policy discussion.
First of all, such signals can be actively picked up in the American political environment. This can become an additional argument in foreign policy discussions around Ukraine
At the same time, he emphasized that the scale of the interview's impact should not be exaggerated.
There is certainly no talk of any catastrophe for the president. This can become an additional card in someone's hands - both inside the country and abroad. But there is no talk of tragedy. Unfortunately, the country today has so many challenges and problems that this story does not seem too big against their background
Should we expect a new ambassador to Britain?
This is purely a political question. If a decision is made to dismiss him, it will immediately have a political connotation. We remember the situation with the previous ambassador to Great Britain, Vadym Prystaiko - then the President reacted even to less resonant statements with dismissal. If Zaluzhnyi is dismissed now, it could look like an attempt to remove a potential political competitor. Especially since Zelenskyy himself talks about possible elections. In such a case, such a step would only further strengthen his opponent
At the same time, Dubov emphasized that Zelenskyy's decision-making style allows for the possible dismissal of the ex-commander-in-chief.
Given Zelenskyy's leadership style and a certain unpredictability of personnel decisions, such a scenario could theoretically be expected. But from a political point of view, it would look unprofitable. Most likely, he will remain in office for now