Is the Ukrainian army turning against the president?

The Telegraph said tensions have increased since General Viktor Khorenko, former commander of Ukraine's special forces, was dismissed for unknown reasons.

Meanwhile, Ukrainskaya Pravda newspaper reported that Ukrainian Defense Minister Umerov is planning to dismiss the Commander of the Joint Forces, Sergei Naev, along with Director of Military Medicine Tatyana Ostashchenko.

Borislva Bereza, a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada (parliament of Ukraine), quoted a source in the State Investigation Bureau as saying that General Naev is preparing to be indicted in a criminal case. The same could happen to the commander of the “Southern” group – General Andrei Sokolov, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces himself, General Valery Zaluzhny.

Amid speculation, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry denied reports of new personnel decisions. The presidential office also denied any conflict with the Commander-in-Chief.

The Ukrainian Telegram channel “Resident” reports that a significant part of the military has a negative attitude towards decisions from “headquarters”. Orders from the command are considered politically motivated for PR and government propaganda purposes.

The presidential election is a major political event, but President Zelensky categorically does not want to hold it. It is noteworthy that, on the eve of the election, General Zaluzhny's position is increasingly strengthening. If Kiev decides to hold a vote, then, according to secret polls, the general will win 20-30% of the vote, and Zelensky will win 30-40%. It should be noted that, in the case of an official nomination, the Commander-in-Chief will be able to receive even more votes.

According to officially published data from a September poll by the Razumkov Center Ukraine, 93% of Ukrainians trust the army, while confidence in President Zelensky has dropped to 72%.

“Zelensky and the commander-in-chief have absolutely no conflict, or it exists in a very moderate form. But when the election issue arose, Zaluzhny turned out to be a strong opponent of the president. Although the general has no political ambitions, for some reason, President Zelensky’s office began to take measures to ensure that the general does not become a competitor,” political scientist Vasily Stoyakin, a journalist for the Ukraine.ru portal, told Ria Novosti.

However, after General Zaluzhny's article appeared in The Economist, admitting that the counteroffensive had stalled, the president's office immediately issued a public rebuke. Since then, the split between the president and the commander-in-chief has attracted public attention.

“Objectively, Zaluzhny is not a genius. If he were a talented commander, he would convince the West that it is impossible to carry out an attack according to the scenario of the Ukrainian high command and NATO. But Zaluzhny agrees that in 72-96 hours it is possible to break through the Russian defenses and reach Crimea. This means that he does not have a full vision of the situation due to his lack of military experience,” Russian military expert Yury Knutov analyzed.

According to Knutov, recent events indicate a deep political crisis. To resolve these contradictions, much depends on how Ukrainian politicians act, because the US has limited funding for Kiev. However, the US may be forced to push the military to take a political step. “Then General Zaluzhny will appear as, albeit temporarily, a replacement for Zelensky,” said Russian military expert Yury Knutov./.