Ukraine's military leadership changes up to Kyiv but none observed at this stage, US says
The United States does not see any changes in the top command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the background of rumors about the alleged dismissal of Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, announced Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder at a briefing on Tuesday.
Thus, Washington is not observing any changes in the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
"Obviously, it's for Ukraine to discuss their internal domestic affairs," Ryder said.
Earlier, the head of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, called to ignore bloggers and the media, which spread the fake news about Zaluzhnyi's dismissal.
On Monday evening, anonymous Telegram channels, some of which are believed to be connected to the Office of the President, as well as several Ukrainian MPs, spread information about the alleged resignation of Zaluzhnyi. For "confirmation", they urged to wait for Zelenskyy's address, hinting that he will officially comment on the rumors.
Sergii Nykyforov, spokesman for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, denied these reports in a comment to LIGA.net.
In addition, information about the alleged dismissal of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov spread online. Subsequently, the press service of the Ministry of Defense published a message: "Dear journalists, we immediately answer everyone: no, this is not true."
On December 12, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov stated that the "dismissal" of Zaluzhnyi is not on the agenda as the topic was being "stirred up" both internally and externally.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence stated that the issue of the "conflict" between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi is being spread by Russia to destabilize Ukraine.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov also denied rumors about "tensions" between Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi.