ZVolodymyr Zelenskyj and Valery Zalushnyj hugged each other twice in front of the cameras on Friday. The Ukrainian president presented one of the country's highest medals in a ceremonial ceremony to the man he dismissed as commander-in-chief of the armed forces the day before. Both appeared relaxed. There had been talk of serious tensions and resentments between the two men for months before what had been expected for days finally happened on Thursday evening: Zelensky fired the man who had led the Ukrainian armed forces in the crucial first months of defense against Russian attack. Before Zelenskyy officially announced his decision, he and Zalushnyj shared a photo in which they were both smiling and shaking hands.
It was clear from the two's comments that it was not a routine meeting. Saluschnyj wrote that together they had survived the hardest days of the war. However, the challenges of 2022 are different than those of 2024. That is why we have to adapt to the new circumstances. After an important and serious conversation, we decided together to “change our approaches and our strategy”. Zelensky wrote that he thanked Zalushny for two years of defending Ukraine. The time has come for a renewal. He invited Saluschnyj to “continue to work in the team”.
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