Why Ukraine fired General Valery Zaluzhny

President Volodymyr Zelensky fired Zaluzhny on February 8, even as the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) warned that the move could trigger riots or a mutiny. General Aleksandr Syrsky has been announced as Zaluzhny's replacement.
Officially, the US neither supported nor opposed Zaluzhny’s firing, with White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan telling reporters late last week that “we’re not going to be drawn into that particular decision.” But unofficially, Zaluzhny was blamed for Ukraine’s disagreements with the Pentagon over the 2023 offensive, a source “advising the White House on military matters” told Politico.
British and American generals helped plan and execute a massive Ukrainian counteroffensive to the Sea of ​​Azov, but Zaluzhny “shelved” the plan after just four days of brutal fighting and opted for tactics the Ukrainians were more familiar with. The Ukrainians “just don’t care about American advice and they often conclude that we have nothing to offer them that is wise,” the anonymous adviser told Politico, noting that many of the Pentagon’s proposals were ultimately “useless” because the Americans had no experience with this type of warfare.
While Zaluzhny bears heavy responsibility for this, the US “continually scolds the wrong person,” Politico’s source asserted, because he was “thwarted by Zelensky” and the President has the final say on military matters.

According to Politico, the pre-emptive strike resulted in “staggering human losses” while failing to achieve any of its objectives. Since then, disagreements between Zelensky and Zaluzhny have been made public. A Ukrainian analyst told the outlet that the Ukrainian leader also suspected General Zaluzhny of wanting to run for president, to the point that his dismissal was seen as a political necessity.
Syrsky, who is widely unpopular in the military, is considered politically safe because he is of Russian origin and has no political ambitions./.