President Zelensky reportedly delays dismissal of Ukraine's military chief Zaluzhny due to a data leak
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had plans to dismiss the country's top military commander, Valeriy Zaluzhny, on January 29 but postponed the decision following a data leak about the dismissal, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. According to a former high-ranking Ukrainian official cited by the newspaper, the process of removing Zaluzhny from his position is now being slowed down.
A Ukrainian parliamentarian familiar with the leadership's plans confirmed the information, adding that Zelensky and Zaluzhny met on the evening of January 29. However, no decision was made, partly due to the lack of immediate candidates to succeed Zaluzhny as top military commander.
The British publication The Economist states that potential successors for Zaluzhny considered were the 58-year-old commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, General Serhiy Syrsky, and the 38-year-old head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. The publication suggests that Budanov declined the top military commander post at the last minute. A close colleague of Budanov noted that he was not in contention for Zaluzhny's position, but at the same time had no right to refuse it.
The Economist also confirmed that Zelensky and Zaluzhny met on the evening of January 29, where the President informed the military chief of his dismissal. Zelensky offered Zaluzhny another position as Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), but he declined.
After the Ukrainian media and politicians started reporting on Zaluzhny's dismissal on the evening of January 29, former Verkhovna Rada deputy Boryslav Bereza, citing sources in the president's office, claimed that the top commander had turned down the NSDC role or a potential ambassadorship offer. Bereza also stated that both Budanov and Syrsky had declined to become the top military commander.
Another member of the Rada, Oleksiy Honcharenko, reported that Zaluzhny refused an offer to become the ambassador to a European country.
The Ukrainian leadership later refuted claims of Zaluzhny's dismissal. "Dear journalists, we respond immediately to all of you: no, this is not true," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated on their Telegram channel, without specifying the exact nature of the report. The Ukrainian president's press secretary, Serhii Nykyforov, later issued a more specific statement: "Definitely not. The President has not fired the top commander."