If he fires him, he will run against him in the presidential election and might be the only one who can beat him. This is a result of a lack of aid from America in the end, they have to spend lives if they can't expend ammo. I think firing this guy after the way he performed on the battlefield would be a mistake, he wants to take the strain off his soldiers and get some new blood in to help them, he owes them that. It will divide the country Zaluzhny is as popular as he is, a national hero.
Zelensky to oust Ukraine’s top general amid tension over new mobilization
KYIV — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his top commander, Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, that he was firing him in a meeting on Monday, according to a senior official familiar with the conversation — a disruptive military shake-up amid Ukraine’s struggles on the battlefield and after months of friction between the president and the popular general.
Zaluzhny remains in his post for now, but a formal presidential decree is expected to confirm his ousting nearly two years into Russia’s invasion and as Moscow’s forces appear to be gaining the strategic initiative on some parts of the front.
On Monday, Zelensky’s spokesman, Serhiy Nykyforov, denied that Zaluzhny had been fired. “There is no subject of conversation,” Nykyforov told reporters. “There is no order. The president did not dismiss the commander in chief.”
Nykyforov on Wednesday did not immediately reply to messages from The Washington Post seeking any updated comment.
A highly anticipated counteroffensive, using soldiers trained by NATO allies and with Western weapons and equipment, reclaimed little territory, falling far short of expectations. Zaluzhny and his American counterparts disagreed sharply over tactics, and the Ukrainian commander ultimately ignored U.S. advice to concentrate his forces, which he believed could have led to far higher casualties.
In their conversation Monday, Zelensky told Zaluzhny that Ukrainians have grown tired of war and that the country’s international backers have also slowed military assistance, so perhaps a new commander would rejuvenate the situation, the person familiar with their conversation said.
Two individuals spoke about the meeting on the condition of anonymity to be candid about the highly sensitive situation with unpredictable implications for the war and Ukraine’s security. Senior members of Zaluzhny’s staff are also expected to be removed, one person said.
U.S. war plans for Ukraine don’t foresee retaking lost territory
In Monday’s meeting, differences between the two boiled over because of disagreement about how many soldiers Ukraine needs to mobilize this year, according to the two people familiar with the exchange.
Zaluzhny proposed mobilizing close to 500,000 troops, a figure Zelensky viewed as impractical given the scarcity of uniforms, guns and training facilities and potential challenges related to recruitment, the people said. Zelensky has also publicly said that Ukraine lacks the funds to pay so many new conscripts.
Zaluzhny countered that Ukraine is already short of forces due to mounting casualties and needs to match 400,000 new soldiers that Russia plans to mobilize, one person familiar with the conversation said....