Zelensky wants to sack Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky plans to remove Major General Valery Zaluzhny from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the country, Ukrainian publication Telegraf wrote with reference to sources.

Zaluzhny may be offered the position of the Minister of Defense. The post of the commander-in-chief, in turn, is likely to be taken by the current commander of the ground forces, Alexander Syrsky.

"People's deputies and other people close to Zelensky say that there is no conflict between the president's office and Zaluzhny, but the president doesn't really want to have a competitor during the victory celebration,” the source said.

Zaluzhny is not very happy about the prospect of being downgrade to the Minister of Defense, the publication said. Ukraine's Defence Ministry is currently headed by Alexei Reznikov. He was proposed to be appointed Prime Minister, he also expressed a desire to become the Minister of Justice. However, the Telegraf said, Zelensky was happy with the sitting Minister of Justice.

At the same time, it is unlikely that Zelensky will succeed at sacking the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since he enjoys great support both among the population and foreign partners.

On August 17, Valery Zaluzhny said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine was experiencing a very difficult situation at the front. According to him, the Russian army continues to advance along the entire front line. The Russian forces strike the positions of the Ukrainian army about 700-800 times a day, using from 40 to 60 thousand shells daily.