Varied opinions of Zelenskyy and Gen. Zaluzhnyi on frontline not deemed significant by NATO
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Photo: facebook.com/ganna_maliar)
The North Atlantic Alliance does not consider that differences in public assessments of the situation on the front line between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi are of great significance.
A high-ranking NATO official stated this at a briefing in Brussels on condition of anonymity, reports RBC-Ukraine correspondent.
"I wouldn't overstate these differences - they (Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi) simply approach the situation from different perspectives. When Zaluzhnyi, speaking about the situation on the battlefield, talks about the war turning into a war of attrition, he is right. It cannot be said that this description is inaccurate. And Zelenskyy speaks about progress achieved, but it's slower than desired. Both these statements can be true simultaneously," stated the official.
He clarifies that Zaluzhnyi expresses his views from a military perspective, whereas Zelenskyy does so from a political standpoint.
The official further explains that Russia is currently trying to exacerbate these differences between the political and military leadership because, according to Russia's version, if there's a dead end on the front, it means Ukraine is losing, and Russia is winning the war.
"The Russian authorities and President Putin (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin - Ed.) specifically desperately hope that everyone will conclude that the war is over. Of course, that's not the case," the official added.
Rumors of a conflict between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi
Сertain media outlets recently began writing about an alleged conflict between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
This came after an article by Zaluzhnyi for The Economist, in which he mentioned that military actions in Ukraine were reaching a deadlock.
Sources of RBC-Ukraine confirmed that relations between Zaluzhnyi and Zelenskyy have worsened recently but not as severely as some Western media outlets have reported.
