Bloomberg quoted informed sources as saying that the US is concerned that differences between President Volodymir Zelensky and General Staff Valery Zaluzhny are slowing Ukraine's development of a new strategy (Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine).
"Dear journalists, we give you an answer - no, it's not true," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry wrote on Telegram on January 29.
Serhii Nykyforov, Ukraine's presidential press secretary, told Ukrainska Pravda that Mr Zelenskyy had not dismissed Mr Zaluzhny.
Earlier, Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko cited sources saying that Mr. Zaluzhny had been asked to resign but there was no official decree yet.
"Two sources told me that... Mr. Zaluzhny was asked to resign but there is no decree yet. He was offered the position of ambassador to one of the European countries. He refused," Mr. Goncharenko said on Telegram.
Interfax-Ukraine also cited sources saying that Mr. Zaluzhny and President Zelensky met and reached an agreement on the dismissal.
General Valery Zaluzhny was appointed Chief of the General Staff of Ukraine in July 2021. By the fall of 2022, Mr. Zaluzhny had made a name for himself after his strategic acumen helped Kiev reclaim much of its territory from Russia.
However, Ukraine's counter-offensive in the second half of 2023 did not achieve the expected results.
A rift appeared to have emerged between the chief of the General Staff and the Ukrainian president after Mr Zaluzhny said in November that the Ukrainian conflict could have reached a stalemate. Mr Zelensky appeared to disagree with the top general’s assessment.
In November 2023, Gennady Chastykov, a close aide to General Zaluzhny, was killed while celebrating his 39th birthday after opening a birthday gift containing a grenade. In December 2023, authorities discovered inactive listening devices in Mr. Zaluzhny’s office.
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