The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, V. Zaluzhn, told “Time” journalist S. Shuster that President V. Zelensky does not need to have a very deep knowledge of military affairs, and the Office of the President suspected the general of a desire for power in the first years of the Russian invasion.
An excerpt from American journalist S.Shuster’s book “The Showman: Inside the invasion that shook the world and made a leader from Volodymyr Zelensky” was published by “The Telegraph”.
“During my own conversation with the general, he made it clear that politicians and generals are uneasy partners. Their relationship was at its best when V. Zelensky tried to convince the allies to supply weapons.
“He needs to know no more regarding the army than regarding medicine or building bridges,” said Zalužn, writes S.Shuster.
The journalist claims that the president and his team allowed him to spend a lot of time in the presidency during the first years of the Russian invasion.
He notes that although at the beginning of the war V. Zelensky was considered a hero of Ukraine, later V. Zaluzhno’s popularity began to grow: fan pages dedicated to him had hundreds of thousands of followers, newspaper headlines called him the Iron General, people printed his image on T-shirts, and some of the President chancellery officials suspected the general of lust for power.
At the same time, S.Shuster writes, as the Russians retreated, V.Zelensky became more and more confident. He formed his own military priorities, which did not always coincide with V. Zaluzhno’s priorities. Disagreements soon deepened.
Yurij Tyra, whom S.Shuster describes as a long-time friend of the president, learned regarding the disagreements from military men he met while transporting cargo to the front. “They kept asking me there: are you with the president or with Zaluzhno?” Either with one or the other,” he said.
J. Tyra said that the general received such adoration at the front that no politician can achieve, and the President’s office might do little.
#Questions #Ukrainian #army #V.Zaluzhn #V.Zelensky
2024-07-09 10:11:19
