Presidential advisor bats down speculation of shift in military command, backs Zaluzhnyi

The head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, denied the rumors that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy allegedly wants to replace the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi during an interview with journalist Natalia Moseychuk.

"Our only position is to win the war. There is a constant dialogue, constant work 24/7," Yermak said.

He noted that he "never heard that Zelenskyy wanted to replace Zaluzhnyi."

"I do not have such information. We are thinking about how to win this war and we are doing everything every day to make it happen," said the head of the presidency.

Since the beginning of the large-scale invasion, the Russians have been using the narrative about the alleged conflict between the political and military leadership of Ukraine, and sometimes this disinformation is replicated by internal forces in Ukraine.

On November 7, 2023, MP Volodymyr Aryev stated that the Minister of Defense submitted a request for the dismissal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, but later deleted this message and published a refutation. Russian propaganda and some Ukrainian resources managed to spread his appeal.