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In the midst of the conflict against Russia, Ukraine has decided to change its commander in chief of the Armed Forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed Valerii Zaluzhnyi and appointed Oleksandr Syrskyi in his place. This change could not only influence the course of the war, but could also have significant political implications for the Ukrainian leader. What is the reason for this change of military command and what will be the consequences? We discuss it in this edition of El Debate.
Ukraine has a new commander in chief of the Armed Forces in the middle of the war. President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed former military leader Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who has been in charge since the start of the war with Russia in 2022 and has a higher popularity than Zelensky himself.
The most recent survey by the International Institute of Sociology of kyiv shows that while Zaluzhnyi has the support of 88% of those consulted, the president has 62%. Furthermore, Zelensky lost 20% popularity between 2022 and 2023.
On the other hand, Zelensky had differences with the general that became public. In November of last year, Zaluzhnyi published an essay in 'The Economist' magazine in which he stated that the war was at a “stalemate” due to stagnation in technology and acknowledged that he himself made a mistake by believing that with casualties Russians would force the Kremlin to go to peace negotiations.
The Ukrainian Presidency replied that these comments only benefited Russia.
Zaluzhnyi's replacement is General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who served as commander of Ukraine's ground forces from 2019 until his most recent appointment. Is a change of military command in the middle of the war convenient for Ukraine or did Zelensky make the decision thinking more in political and popularity terms? We talked about it with our guests:
– Isidro Sepúlveda, international analyst, specialist in geopolitics and professor of contemporary history at the National University of Distance Education in Spain.
– Enrique Ayala, analyst at the Alternativas foundation, expert in geopolitics and retired military man.
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