Commander Zaluzhnyi posts photo with General Staff chief after rumors of dismissal request

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, after dumps about his alleged resignation, published a joint photo with the Chief of the General Staff Serhiy Shaptala on his personal Facebook page.

In the photo, Zaluzhnyi and Shaptala are sitting in the office, the military leader did not add any caption.

Apparently, in this way the army chief hinted that he continues to command the troops, dispelling rumors about his "removal".

In the 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 dismissal of Zaluzhnyi. For "confirmation", they urged to wait for Zelenskyy's address, saying 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, 2023, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umerov stated that there is no question of the "dismissal" of Zaluzhnyi, the topic of which is being "peddled" 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.