Zelenskyy reacts to criticism from former military chief, says now is not the time to revisit past tensions

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said it is "not good" to publicly discuss details of internal disagreements following remarks by Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with AFP

Details: Zelenskyy responded to a question on whether he viewed the comments as the start of Zaluzhnyi's election campaign.

Quote: "Probably we all had the same emotion: isn't it too early for all this… I simply believe that discussing the details Valerii Fedorovych [Zaluzhnyi] spoke about is also not good today. Because no one gains anything from this. After all, we're talking about our armed forces… They're fighting today. And he won't look good, so to speak, if he talks about this and continues [to do so]. Well, he said what he said, and that's about it."

More details: Answering a follow-up question, Zelenskyy added that he has not spoken to Zaluzhnyi since the interview was published. He said it is necessary to "focus on other things" now.

Quote: "Because who said I'll definitely run in elections? No one said I will, and no one said I won't. Because there's a war. That's it. And we must end it with dignity. People will react to everything and everyone, judging by how people live, how they lived through this time, who was where and who did what. In my view, that's the whole answer."

More details: Asked whether he thinks Zaluzhnyi could make a good president, Zelenskyy replied: "I don't know."

Quote: "Anyone can become president if they are ready not only to run in elections but also to actually be president."

Background: In an interview with the Associated Press, Zaluzhnyi spoke for the first time about tensions with Zelenskyy, particularly the strain that arose in September 2022 when officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) forced their way into a temporary military command post in Kyiv to conduct searches.

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