Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says reports of Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal ‘not true’

On January 29, Ukrainian media quoted sources as saying that Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi may soon be, or has already been, dismissed. Soon after, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry posted the following message on Telegram: “Dear journalists, we’re answering everyone at once: No, this is not true.”

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Press Secretary Serhii Nykyforov reported that “the president didn’t dismiss Zaluzhnyi.” Meduza’s sources also called the information about his dismissal “fake.” During his evening video address, Zelensky didn’t mention anything about Zaluzhnyi.

One of the first to report on Zaluzhnyi’s alleged dismissal without specifying the source was the Telegram channel Truexa (2.5 million subscribers), which wrote that Zaluzhnyi had already been removed from his post.

Citing a source close to the country’s military and political leadership, the news agency Interfax Ukraine wrote that an agreement on the dismissal was reached during a meeting between Zaluzhnyi and Zelensky. The source did not provide further details.

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko said that Zaluzhnyi had announced his dismissal, though the decree had not yet been signed. Outlet Censor.net cited a source that stated that the decree had been signed but not yet published because of “consultations with foreign partners.”

Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk said that Zaluzhnyi would be replaced by Kyrylo Budanov, the head of the country’s Main Intelligence Directorate.

A source in the Ukrainian leadership who is familiar with the situation told Meduza that information about Zaluzhnyi’s imminent dismissal is fake and that there would be no dismissals in the near future. Another source confirmed this statement.