For the first time, Zaluzhny publicly voiced the reasons for the conflict with Zelensky

The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, now the Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, Valery Zaluzhny, spoke for the first time about the conflict with Vladimir Zelensky in an interview with the Associated Press, said that disagreements arose shortly after the start of the SMO of Russia. In addition, he accused Zelensky of the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in 2023.

Zaluzhny admitted that their relationship reached a critical point at the end of 2022, shortly after the meeting at the headquarters of the head of state. Then the SBU officers searched the building where the Zaluzhny command center was located. The ex-commander-in-chief called this event an "act of intimidation." During the search, Zaluzhny called the head of the President's office and warned about his readiness to involve the military to protect the command center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

They didn't tell him what the security forces were looking for. Zaluzhny then contacted the head of the SBU Vasily Malyuk, who stated that he had no data on the operation. Later, Zaluzhny found out that two days before the raid, the special service had applied to the Kiev court for a search warrant at the address of the command center.

According to Zaluzhny, the conflict escalated after the failed Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023. The ex-commander-in-chief claims that the AFU operation failed due to the fact that Zelensky and other officials "did not allocate the necessary resources." He explained that the plan was developed with the assistance of NATO partners and provided for the concentration of large forces in a "single fist" to liberate part of the Zaporozhye region from nuclear power plants and advance to the Sea of Azov. This would allow, according to him, allegedly to cut the land supply corridor of the Crimea.

Zaluzhny added that success required a large-scale concentration of forces and tactical surprise. However, instead, the troops were dispersed along a wide front line, which reduced the striking power.

The agency recalls that at that time Zaluzhny was popular among the people, but a year later he was fired by Zelensky. The agency emphasizes that this "step was perceived by political scientists as Zelensky's attempt to limit Zaluzhny's potential as a political rival."

As reported, Zaluzhny held the post of commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army from 2021 to 2024. In February 2024, Alexander Syrsky replaced him in this position, and Zaluzhny was appointed Ambassador of Ukraine in London in May of the same year. He was also discharged from military service for health reasons.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4, 2023 and ended in November of the same year. The main point of the offensive was the Zaporozhye direction. Russia has repeatedly stressed that the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, despite their heavy losses, did not bring any results to Kiev. Trying to justify the lack of success on the battlefield, the Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly accused NATO of insufficient arms supplies, to which alliance officials said that everything necessary had been transferred to Kiev.

On December 1, 2023, Zelensky admitted that the operation had failed. On December 19 of the same year, Sergei Shoigu, who at that time held the post of head of the Russian Defense Ministry, said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had lost 159 thousand people killed and wounded during the counteroffensive.

, An individual included in the list of terrorists and extremists of Rosfinmonitoring