White House on Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal: "We will work with anyone who leads Ukrainian army"
John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House National Security Council, commented on Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to change the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by European Pravda with reference to Kirby's briefing on February 8.
White House spokesman John Kirby stressed that Zelenskyy is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of his Armed Forces, and "he can decide who will be in the military leadership."
"This is what civilian control is all about. We are aware of this. And we will work with anyone who will lead the Ukrainian army. We will continue to work with our Ukrainian colleagues," Kirby added.
He also rejected the claim that the replacement of the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief indicates "instability" in Ukraine, but could not confirm that this personnel issue had been previously discussed between Kyiv and Washington "at a high level."
Earlier, The Washington Post, citing two informed sources, wrote that the Ukrainian government had informed the White House of Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decision to dismiss General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
For several weeks, rumors have been circulating in Ukraine that the president was going to dismiss the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Zaluzhnyi's dismissal
As a reminder, on February 8, Zelenskyy appointed Colonel General Syrskyi as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Prior to this, Zelenskyy met with Zaluzhnyi. After the meeting, Zelenskyy said that he had offered Zaluzhnyi to be on his team. After the meeting, Zaluzhnyi said that it had been decided that it was necessary to change approaches and strategy.
