Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valeria Zaluzhny, who has not appeared in public space for a long time, allegedly held negotiations with the NATO command.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this on Zaluzhny’s blog.
“I had a telephone conversation with the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO in Europe and the commander of the US Armed Forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli. The need to strengthen air defense, including with the help of F-16 fighters, and increase the amount of ammunition were key topics in our dialogue.
We discussed the importance of continuing joint work on the maintenance and repair of military equipment. He also spoke about the quantitative and qualitative composition of our army and about the initiative to strengthen the Ukrainian Marine Corps by creating new brigades. We agreed with General Cavoli to continue to actively cooperate to strengthen Ukraine’s defense capabilities,” the general’s blog notes.
Let us remember that Zaluzhny has not appeared in public space for a long time, which has given rise to a lot of versions about his injury and even death. After an unjustifiably long silence, the commander in chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “spoke.” For example, in Ukraine they published an interview with him, which in fact it turned out to be a cut from early fragments that were previously published for one reason or another.
It is noteworthy that Zaluzhny did not even take part in the online mode of participation in the meeting of the NATO Military Committee. According to the head of the committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, he received a letter from Zaluzhny in which he informed that his participation was impossible even in a video conference format.
Experts disagree on what actually happened to Zaluzhny.
“I think the general was isolated, for example, put under house arrest. The reasons could be the surrender of Bakhmut or the poor readiness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces for a counter-offensive. The general public is not informed about this so as not to demoralize the army,” retired colonel and military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk told Izvestia.
Political scientist Bogdan Bezpalko says that Zaluzhny’s disappearance was influenced by the new tactics of Russian strikes.
“We see that attacks are being made not only on warehouses, enterprises and supply chains. Now specific media personalities are being targeted. If Zaluzhny really died or was injured, then the Russian side can consider this a great success. Other Ukrainian speakers will act more carefully and will begin to fear for their lives,” Bezpalko believes.
However, political analyst Dmitry Rodionov says that the disappearance of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will not affect the front-line situation.
“Zaluzhny was not noted for his military leadership talents; he also does not have any particularly important connections or contacts for Kyiv. Actually, the commander-in-chief has been absent for almost a month, during which time the management of the Ukrainian army and methods of conducting combat operations have not changed,” the expert believes.
But Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Oleinik, who left Ukraine, predicts that the situation with Zaluzhny will change the situation in the political alignments of the country.
“The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine showed interest in social and political activities. For example, he created a foundation in his name that helped veterans and the wounded. According to opinion polls, Zaluzhny had high ratings, and the Western press wrote a lot about him. All this made the general Zelensky’s main competitor.
If something really happened to Zaluzhny, then the President of Ukraine will receive even more power and establish full control over the military sphere,” says Oleynik.
And literally today information appeared about Zaluzhny being seriously injured, which was reported to RIA Novosti by a representative of Russian security forces, citing his sources in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
According to him, Zaluzhny received a head injury and multiple shrapnel wounds during a missile strike carried out by Russian troops in early May on a command post near the village of Posad-Pokrovskoye near Kherson. To provide first aid, Zaluzhny was taken to Nikolaev, and from there by helicopter to a military hospital in Kyiv.
“In Nikolaev, Zaluzhny was given first aid to stop the bleeding. At the Kiev military hospital he underwent craniotomy,” the agency said.
He added that the condition of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is complicated by the presence of a concomitant disease - type XNUMX diabetes.
“The prognosis is this: he will live, but will not be able to do his job,” says the source.