Photo: ALEXEY FURMAN/GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

Rivalry is growing in Ukraine between Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff.
the country's popular General Valery Zaluzhny irritates the president, who has not stopped engaging in military affairs to the extent that he has "created parallel channels of communication" with commanders.

Never since the start of the Russian invasion has the intrigue surrounding the tensions between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his chief of staff Valery Zaluzhny reached such intensity. And although the presidential administration denies any form of conflict between the two most popular figures in war-torn Ukraine, no public statement has yet calmed the debate that is increasingly worrying the population.

However, the Ukrainian media is full of commentary on the disagreement. In a column published on 30 November on the Ukrainian Pravda website, Alina Mykhaylova, the young widow of legendary second lieutenant Dmytro Kociubaylov, "Da Vinci" by his pseudonym, who was killed in Bakhmut in March, argues that victory rests not on Ukraine's military arsenal but on "the unity of the government, the people and the army".

Zachování jednoty
Petro Burkovskyi, director of the think tank Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation, also makes no secret of his concerns at a time when the country is facing great difficulties in mobilising new soldiers. "For this to happen, the government must maintain unity and cohesion between the military and civilian leadership," says the political analyst, who also warns of the consequences for Ukraine's international image: "No one will support a country whose military and political leadership are not in harmony."

https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2023/12/06/en-ukraine-la-rivalite-croissante-entre-volodymyr-zelensky-et-son-chef-d-etat-major_6204212_3210.html

LeMonde/JaV