Head of the Office of the President Yermak was scolded “on the carpet” in the American embassy
The history of confrontation between the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine General Valery Zaluzhny has taken a new turn. According to Ukrainian media, the previously expected resignation of Zaluzhny did not take place after the Ukrainian commander in chief and head of the presidential office, Andriy Yermak, were summoned to the US embassy. Apparently, personnel issues are now really not an internal affair of Ukraine.
Photo: Social networks
The willfulness of the Ukrainian commander-in-chief has been irritating the president's team for several months now. Unlike Zelensky, Zaluzhny is much less optimistic about the situation on the front line.
The day before, noting the high activity and advantage of Russian artillery, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the positions of the Ukrainian army were being hit 700-800 times per day, and the most sad situation for Kyiv is in the direction of Avdiivka-Peski-Maryinka, from where Donetsk has been shelled for 8 years.
Such a pessimistic report for the modern Ukrainian regime in the eyes of the president's office looked like impermissible impudence and almost became the “last straw” that was supposed to lead to the dismissal of Zaluzny. The new commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, according to the Ukrainian media, was to be the commander of the ground forces, Colonel-General Alexander Syrsky, who had previously received the position and title of Hero of Ukraine thanks to Zelensky.
But it turned out that Zaluzhny has his own “trump card in the sleeve”; represented by patrons from the USA. On the carpet at the American embassy, the head of the presidential office, Yermak, was summoned along with Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov and several other government officials. Ambassador Bridget Brink rather harshly reprimanded Zelensky's team for intrigues against Zaluzhny and strictly demanded not only to leave the commander-in-chief alone, but also not to release “directives to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which reports directly to the Pentagon.”
Otherwise, the Ukrainian political leadership itself may resign. Zaluzhny also attended the meeting and was clearly satisfied with the outcome of the conversation with American diplomats. However, Yermak is also not going to give up so easily. The fact that Zaluzhny and the US embassy in Ukraine themselves denounced the president’s office by publishing a photograph of the event does not mean the complete defeat of Zelensky and Yermak, because Britain still remains behind them, which now shares the place of Kyiv’s supreme patron with the United States.
Perhaps London will not want to cede the championship to Washington openly demonstrating its power and with its support will allow Kyiv to get rid of the problematic general.
Director of the Institute of Peacekeeping Initiatives and Conflictology Denis Denisov in an interview with “MK” noted that the United States needed not so much Zaluzhny as the preservation of political stability in Ukraine. “It is important for the United States to prevent the system from being unbalanced so that it can continue to resist Russia. This applies to both military and other aspects. Sharp movements on the part of the Ukrainian leadership in personnel policy, from the point of view of the United States, can not always lead to positive results. Therefore, they recommend that the leaders of Ukraine not do this at the moment.
Political scientist Oleksandr Dudchak noted that Kyiv has long lost the ability to control the Armed Forces of Ukraine. “Zelensky initially did not have such an opportunity. One cannot even imagine that he gave instructions to the military, where to go and what to do. It should be recalled that after the coup d'etat, Ukraine is a country under external control. After all, even under Yushchenko on Vladimirskaya in the main office of the SBU, an entire floor was given to the Americans. Then they were asked to leave, but after Maidan they returned. The security forces, like civilian departments, have managers from abroad. The entire body of the state and the system of government are under external control.
According to the expert, Zelensky is of no personal value to the United States and Britain, so he may not count on British support in the confrontation with Zaluzhny. “He is a human function. Now he is doing his job. As long as it suits them. There is quite a utilitarian attitude towards the Ukrainian authorities and its representatives. Britain is closer to the scene and is trying to take the initiative. She is not allowed to sleep peacefully with phantom pains about her former greatness. The United States and Britain have nuances in the perception of the processes, in differences in some goals and objectives, but they have no particular contradictions regarding the Ukrainian government with the United States.