President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on the statements of his Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valery Zaluzhny, about possible mistakes during the counteroffensive.
Zelensky said this in an interview with German public broadcaster ARD.
In an interview, Zelensky was asked how he perceived Zaluzhny's words, which allegedly sounded like criticism of the counteroffensive and sparked speculation about a possible election campaign.
“I am an adequate person. I believe that now is not the time for politics, because we are in a state of war. This is my position. Others have decided differently. We are a free country,” Zelensky said.
When asked by a journalist whether he planned to fire Zaluzhny, the president replied that there was no such plan.
“What was I going to do? There is a feeling that I was going to fire him. Everyone knows my answer to these questions: I don't want to play politics now. I respect our army and I respect how it fought against Russia at different stages of the war, throughout all these years. I can't say anything more. I don't want to delve into this story. It doesn't particularly interest me ,” the president noted.
What preceded
On February 19, in an interview with the Associated Press news agency, Zaluzhny said that he would not publicly discuss his own political ambitions as long as the war in Ukraine continues and martial law is not declared, because he is afraid of “stirring up discord among Ukrainians.”
At the same time, the general confirmed that political consultants are approaching him with suggestions for developing his potential election campaign.
In addition, the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that the Ukrainian army failed to launch a counteroffensive in 2023 due to the actions of President Volodymyr Zelensky and other “officials.”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with AFP, answering the question whether he considered these statements the beginning of Zaluzhny's election campaign, said that it was “very ugly” to discuss the details of the internal differences voiced by the ambassador. According to him, he had not communicated with Zaluzhny after the publication of this interview and, he said, now “we need to focus on other things.”