Volodymyr Zelensky ended his relationship with Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny at the worst possible time for Ukraine, according to Bloomberg.
Zelensky is as stressed now as at any time since the invasion, as Ukraine’s leadership is not only fighting the Russians on a 930-mile front, but also struggling to get crucial supplies from allies and, indeed, fighting among themselves, according to the assessment of an anonymous European diplomat.
The breakdown in relations between two of Ukraine’s most prominent figures, Zelensky and Zaluzhny, is the biggest internal shake-up since the invasion, as the outgoing general enjoys strong support from the army and the population. Some Western diplomats privately speculate that his popularity has begun to weigh on Zelensky. As if to smooth things over, the day after the commander’s ouster, he was honoured with a “Hero of Ukraine” award.
This incites the belief that the conflict in Ukraine is indeed at a “stalemate,” but one thing remains constant for Zelensky: he hates the word “stalemate.” Breaking up with Zaluzhny is a real “stalemate,” because he can nonetheless take credit for a resistance that few were capable of when Ukraine was embroiled in Europe’s largest armed conflict.
Either way, “stalemate” or not, Ukraine’s attempts to fight back against Russian invaders have failed in two years of war, but as we approach entering the third year of the conflict, the length of the war is eroding morale. The army and Zaluzhny says it needs to mobilise more men, but Zelensky, already unpopular with the population, has resisted the idea, demanding more decisive action on the front.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the new commander-in-chief, may be willing to adhere more rigidly to the president’s military goals and ambitions, but some on the battlefield are distrustful of him, seeing him as more ruthless than his predecessor.
Now Zelensky is travelling abroad, as he did last month to Davos and the Baltics, to promote his country’s interests. He has moved from asserting that Ukraine will lose without their help to appealing to their instinct to support the winning side, but it is one thing to talk about winning and another to get any results on the frontline.
His team recalls how the US overcame its reluctance to send precision HIMARs weapons.
More recently, he points out that it is cheaper for allies to finance Ukraine than to risk fighting Russia on its own territory.
Zelensky’s entourage noticed that President Joe Biden’s narrative shift from as-long-as-you-need to as-long-as-we-can. They are also attuned to what a return of Donald Trump will mean, despite Zelensky’s claims to the contrary.
