Volodymyr Zelenskyy prepares to replace Ukraine’s top general

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is preparing to replace his top general in what would be the biggest shake-up of Ukraine’s military command since Russia’s full-scale invasion began two years ago.

Zelenskyy on Monday offered Valeriy Zaluzhny, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, a new role but the general refused, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

Two of them said Zelenskyy had made clear to Zaluzhny that regardless of whether he took the role, he would be removed from his current position.

The four people cautioned that Zelenskyy had not yet dismissed Zaluzhny and might not do so for some time after reports of the general’s ousting appeared in Ukrainian media.

On Monday, Zelenskyy’s spokesperson, Serhiy Nykyforov, and the defence ministry denied reports about Zaluzhny’s dismissal.

“Dear journalists, we immediately answer everyone: No, this is not true,” the ministry wrote on its Telegram channel without providing additional context. The president’s office declined to comment further on Tuesday.

The president’s offer of a new role to Zaluzhny follows months of speculation about his fate, fed by repeated reports of tension between the two men.

Their strained relationship spilled into the open in November last year after Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive failed to achieve its ambitious goals of retaking lost territory and cutting off Russia’s land bridge to Crimea. Zaluzhny then said that the war had reached a “stalemate”. The president’s office castigated him for using the term.

Replacing Zaluzhny would also cause an uproar within Ukraine’s rank-and-file military and civil society, among whom the general enjoys huge support.

“This will have a very, very negative impact on the [morale] of the army,” Ukrainian military historian Mykhailo Zhyrokhov told Kyiv’s Radio NV, while adding the…