President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky said that he had a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, thanked him for his work and offered to “continue to be on the team.”
“We discussed what kind of renewal the Armed Forces of Ukraine need. They also discussed who might be in the updated leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The time for such an update is right now,” Zelensky’s publication says.
Zaluzhny himself also announced a meeting with the President of Ukraine in his Telegram channel. He called the conversation with Zelensky “important” and “serious” and emphasized that they decided to “change approaches and strategy.” Zaluzhny also thanked the team of the General Staff, the Ministry of Defense and the President of Ukraine. “I am proud of each and everyone in the armed forces of Ukraine, who are protecting the future of our children,” he added.
Since the end of January, the possible resignation of Zaluzhny from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been discussed in the Ukrainian media and telegram channels. On February 5, in an interview with the Italian TV channel Rai News 24, Zelensky said that he was considering this possibility, since the country’s leadership “needs a reset.”
According to Ukrainskaya Pravda, on January 29, Zelensky discussed his resignation at a meeting with Zaluzhny. Later, Western media reported the same thing — in particular, the Washington Post and the New York Times — citing their sources.