Conflict between Zaluzhny and Zelensky is intensifying

Valeriy Zaluzhny, Ukraine's former ambassador to the United Kingdom and former head of the country's Armed Forces, recently shared information about his complex relationship with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in an interview with the Associated Press. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

Zaluzhny emphasized that their initial disagreements emerged during the early days of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He recalled an incident that took place in September 2022.

At that time, Ukrainian forces were making successful advances in the northern direction. However, precisely then, officers from the Ukrainian Security Service entered his office in Kyiv to conduct a search.

The search was justified by a document claiming that a strip club controlled by a criminal group was located at that address. Zaluzhny described this incident as "an open attempt to intimidate" and called the head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, warning him that if such actions continued, severe measures would be taken.

In his interview, Zaluzhny also spoke about the reasons behind the failure of the 2023 counteroffensive. According to him, the initial plans aimed to deliver a strong blow in the Zaporizhzhia direction and reach the Sea of Azov.

However, the attack's strength weakened because the political leadership dispersed resources over a wide area. Zelenskiy explained this failure by citing the late arrival of weapons from allies and a shortage of soldiers.

Additionally, Zaluzhny's political rating remains high. According to recent polls, 23 percent of the population support him, while 20 percent of respondents approve of Zelenskiy.

Zaluzhny is currently unwilling to discuss his political plans and expressed the view that "I will not discuss politics until the war is over." Meanwhile, rumors about the possibility of early elections in Ukraine in February 2026 remain relevant.

How these tensions between Zaluzhny and Zelenskiy will affect internal political stability in Ukraine remains unknown for now.