Ukrainian President Zelensky wants to fire Chief of General Staff Shaptala

According to the Ukrainskaya Pravda news agency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is reportedly considering firing not only the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, but also the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Sergey Shaptala.

The news comes after Mr Zelensky admitted last week that he intended to fire Gen Zaluzhny. The pair had a major falling out after Kiev’s failed summer offensive.

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, General Valery Zaluzhny (right) and Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Sergey Shaptala. (Photo: vzaluzhnyi)

General Zaluzhny has described the situation on the battlefield as a “stalemate”, while President Zelensky vehemently rejects this assessment, especially amid waning support from Western allies.

In an interview with Italy's RAI TG1 news channel on February 4, President Zelensky said he was planning a "deep" reshuffle of the government cabinet , noting that the changes would not be in one position but in many.

Also according to Ukrainskaya Pravda , General Zaluzhny is not the only person targeted in Mr. Zelensky's reform plan and General Shaptala is also at risk of being asked to resign.

Rumors of General Shapatala's dismissal arose from a photo posted by General Zaluzhny on his personal page with the message: " Happy birthday to you (Shapatala). It will still be difficult for us, but we will never be ashamed."

As for General Zaluzhny himself, it is still unclear when he will leave the post of commander of the Ukrainian army and what position he might take in the government in the future.

According to many Western media, Mr. Zaluzhny was fired last week. However, after information about his dismissal was leaked to the press, President Zelensky appeared to delay the decision.

According to Ukrainian MP Evgeny Shevchenko, General Zaluzhny is likely to resign in the next few days. According to the agreement, Mr. Zaluzhny agreed to become the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom.

It is still unclear who is likely to replace General Zaluzhny as commander of the Ukrainian army.

The Washington Post quoted Mr. Zaluzhny as saying that no change in the Ukrainian military leadership could lead to positive changes on the battlefield.

Tra Khanh (Source: russian.rt.com)

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