Rumors swirl in Kyiv of Zelenskyy planning to oust his top general

Tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his top commander Valery Zaluzhny came to a head this week following reports that the military leader was going to be fired.

However, the popular general is still at his post, and the reason he has so far been spared is that Zelenskyy is afraid of creating a powerful political rival if Zaluzhny were fired, a person in Ukraine’s presidential office and another person familiar with the talks between the two told POLITICO. The two were granted anonymity as they were not permitted to speak to the press.

On Monday, several Ukrainian media outlets and opposition politicians, as well as anonymous Telegram channels seen as being friendly with the president’s office, spread rumors that Zelenskyy had ousted the popular general. That met with official pushback.

The reports were that Zaluzhny had been offered another post, but that he had declined. 

An official close to Zaluzhny confirmed that the meeting in the presidential office had taken place, but said that he was not aware of what was discussed or offered to Zaluzhny.

The media fuss appears to be “a controlled leak of information ahead of time,” possibly by Zaluzhny’s team or political actors trying to boost the general’s popularity, the person familiar with the talks said.

“I know for a fact that Zaluzhny is going to be fired, but it was not supposed to happen on Monday and it didn't,” that person said.

Zaluzhny has been silent during the media storm, only posting a selfie with one of his generals, Serhiy Shaptala. The official close to Zaluzhny told POLITICO: “Everything is alright.”

However, the person familiar with talks added that the general’s position is not secure: “The more Zaluzhny's team is playing politics, the more determined Ukraine's office of the president is to get rid of him.”

Zelenskyy is known for changing personnel when progress on the battlefield stalls; he sacked the special operations forces commander in November after Ukraine's largely failed summer ground counteroffensive.

Zaluzhny has also come under fire for his pessimistic assessment of progress in the war. 

Simmering tensions between the two top leaders are a sign of the grim situation in Kyiv. Ukraine’s forces aren’t succeeding in pushing back Russian invaders, they are running out of ammunition, and Western financial and military support hangs in the balance both in Washington and in Brussels.

That’s making Zaluzhny a target.

“Are we winning the war now? Not sure. But it seems the chief commander thinks everything is alright. But others don’t think that way,” the person familiar with the matter said. “He is not involved in war much.”

It’s not the first sign of tensions between the president and the general. 

The first rumors of a feud and Zaluzhny’s possible ousting began circulating at the end of 2022, when media reported Zelenskyy was mulling replacing Zaluzhny with Ukraine’s Land Forces commander Oleksandr Syrsky, seen as more friendly to the president.  

Zelenskyy also sees General Zaluzhny as a potential political rival.

Although presidential elections have been delayed due to the war, Zaluzhny is something of a folk hero in Ukraine — which could translate into electoral power.

“So far, Zaluzhny has not decided to enter politics, but he is considering this option, and the president's office is afraid,” the person familiar with the talks said.

A December poll found that public trust in Zelenskyy is sagging, down to 62 percent compared to 84 percent a year earlier — although he’s still the top-ranked politician in Ukraine. Meanwhile, among public figures, Zaluzhny was trusted by 88 percent of those polled this past December.

Another poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found that Zaluzhny was the most trusted of Ukraine's senior commanders.

The prospect of tensions at the top as Ukraine fights an existential war is dismaying Ukrainians.  More than 70 percent would react negatively if Zelenskyy fires Zaluzhny, the poll found.

Matt Berg reported from Washington and Veronika Melkozerova from Kyiv.