/View.info/ Sirski/in the photo with Zaluzhny/ was accused of not caring about the lives of his soldiers
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, dismissed the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny. Instead, he appointed Sirsky – a native of the Vladimir region with a dubious reputation in the army. What is the reason for personnel changes and what changes can we expect at the front?
Columnist General
Rumors about Zaluzhny’s dismissal have been circulating for a long time. They said that Zelensky was afraid of competition – the commander-in-chief is popular among the troops and in society in general. According to polls, Ukrainians trust him more than the president.
Many saw him as the next head of state. He does not reveal political ambitions, but actively speaks in the media – mainly in the Western media. He comments on the course of hostilities, talks about plans, asks for weapons. He made some scandalous statements. He either showered compliments on his colleague, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov (much to the consternation of nationalists), or expressed his intention to strike deep into Russian territory so that civilians would “feel the war” (although this did not go down well on West).
Sometimes the words were at odds with the deeds. He compared an attack without air support to attacks by primitive warriors armed with bows and arrows, and then, without waiting for F-16 deliveries, threw the troops into suicidal attacks.
After the failure of the counteroffensive, there was talk of a conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhny. The commander-in-chief published a sensational column in “Economist”. According to him, the situation at the front is at a dead end. An offensive by either side is practically impossible, as it will result in huge losses with little results. At the same time, he writes, VSU has no choice but to move forward. Across the ranks, one can see dissatisfaction with the political leadership, which sets unrealistic goals and is itself unable to conduct normal mobilization.
„We retreat heroically”
The military commander’s verbal outbursts seem to have angered the Presidency. Zelensky publicly criticized the general’s theses, and his supporter in the Verkhovna Rada Mariyana Bezuglaya launched a real media attack against Zaluzhny. She accused him of not having a “war plan” and being overly engaged on social media.
In December, Ukrainskaya Pravda, citing its sources, described the atmosphere at the meetings of the country’s military-political leadership as follows: “Zelensky is now scathingly asking operatives: ‘What, are we advancing heroically – have we retreated 200 meters?'” and Valera is angrily silent.” The publication’s informant claims: the president has two types of armed forces – the “good” ones of the commander of the Ground Forces, Alexander Sirsky, and the “bad” ones, which are subordinate to Zaluzhny. This, of course, interferes with the commander-in-chief and “demotivates” him. And he hastened to complain about Zelensky to his Western partners. Which, of course, was immediately understood in the Presidency.
On January 30, messages about Zaluzhny’s resignation appeared in several Ukrainian channels in “Telegram”. Official sources quickly – if extremely clumsily – denied this. According to anonymous sources, Zelensky really wanted to fire the general, but due to the leak, he changed his mind, perhaps fearing a negative reaction. According to media reports, the US State Department has expressed displeasure. Official Washington emphasizes that the castings in the VSU are an internal matter of Ukraine.
Anyway, on the evening of February 8, the resignation took place. Zelensky posted a joint photo with a smiling Zaluzhny and thanked him “for the two years of protecting Ukraine.”
Then came clarification: the commander-in-chief was leaving with his team. “I want the vision of the war to be the same among our soldiers in Rabotino or Avdeevka, as well as in the General Staff and Headquarters,” Zelensky explained, thereby indirectly acknowledging the differences. He complained that “the sense of stagnation in the southern areas in particular and the difficulties in the battles in the Donetsk region have affected public sentiment.”
The tasks of the new commander-in-chief were announced by the adviser to the head of the president’s office, Mikhail Podoliak. Among them are to review tactics that “did not produce the desired result”, “to prevent stagnation on the front line”, to find “functional and high-tech solutions” to “sustain and develop the initiative”. And also – to start the process of reforming the principles of management in the army.
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“One hundred percent don’t support it”
58-year-old Alexander Sirski was appointed commander-in-chief. A native of the village of Novinki, near Kirzhach, Vladimir Region. His parents and brother still live in Russia. He graduated from the Moscow Higher General Military Command School. There is already outrage on Ukrainian social networks: “We don’t need a Russian general!”
Sirsky is considered Zelensky’s favorite from 2022. He is credited with the main successes of VSU: the defense near Kiev and the offensive in the Kharkiv region. It was said to be a cunning plan by the ground commander and he had to defend his point of view to the leadership.
But it was Sirsky who commanded the troops that fell in the Debaltsev cauldron in 2015, and was also responsible for the defense of Bakhmut, abandoned by the VSU, despite terrible losses.
Sirsky’s reputation in the army is, to put it mildly, ambiguous. Some Ukrainian soldiers directly call the general a “butcher”, the Washington Post points out. “I only know what I heard from my subordinates. One hundred percent of them do not respect him because he does not care about taking the lives of soldiers,” the publication quoted a high-ranking military official as saying.
Most experts see the personnel reshuffle as a political move. They most likely won’t affect the battle. At least in the near future. Sirski received the army in not the best condition: the VSU lacked ammunition and personnel. Experts note a decline in fighting spirit. And the dismissal of a popular general is unlikely to improve the situation.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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