Zaluzhny Spoke For The First Time About The Conflict With Zelensky
- 18.02.2026, 15:30
The disagreement centered on the strategy of warfare.
Former AFU commander-in-chief and Ukrainian ambassador to Britain Valeriy Zaluzhny has spoken for the first time about his disagreements with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. In an interview with Associated Press, he said the conflict between the two emerged shortly after the Russian invasion began and concerned war strategy.
Zaluzhny said the relationship reached a critical point in late 2022, shortly after a meeting at the president's headquarters. Then SBU officers searched the building where his command center was located. The ex-chief of staff called this event an "act of intimidation". During the search, Zaluzhny called the head of the president's office and warned of the readiness to engage the military to protect the command center of the AFU.
What the law enforcers were looking for, he was not told. Zaluzhny then contacted SBU head Vasyl Malyuk, who said he had no data on the operation. Zaluzhny later found out that two days before the raid, the security service applied to the Kiev court for a search warrant for the address of the command center. According to the court materials, it was the premises where a closed strip club was located before the war. The ex-chief believes that the warrant was a pretext and the special services could not have confused the location of the country's main military headquarters. The president's office declined to comment on the situation.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023 has also sparked controversy. Zaluzhny said the operation failed because Zelensky and other officials "did not allocate the necessary resources." He said the plan was developed with the help of NATO partners and envisioned concentrating large forces in a "single fist" to liberate parts of the Zaporizhzhya region from the nuclear power plant and advance to the Sea of Azov. This would allow cutting the land supply corridor to Crimea. Success required large-scale concentration of forces and tactical surprise, he said. Instead, however, troops were dispersed along a wide front line, reducing striking power. The counteroffensive was subsequently criticized by military experts for being overly ambitious and a late start that allowed Russian forces to strengthen their defenses.
Zaluzhny also believes that the key problem with Ukrainian military strategy lies in unrealistic expectations at current troop levels and the unsystematic introduction of new technologies. He noted that he has not been involved in military decision-making since his resignation in February 2024. He said he and Zelensky met twice after his dismissal and both times the conversations were "friendly."
According to polls, Zaluzhny remains one of Zelensky's main potential rivals in a possible presidential election. According to Ipsos, Zaluzhny would be supported by 23% of respondents compared to Zelensky's 20%. Many Ukrainians perceive him as a figure capable of changing the system, political analyst Vladimir Fesenko said: "People will vote not only for Zaluzhny but also against Zelensky, holding him responsible for the failures of his presidency".