At the start of the third week since his last appearance, the question to Ukrainians is “where is Zaluzhny?” of a network mockery and a new meme has become quite serious and almost urgent. On the one hand, the international inhabitants are simply interested, but on the other hand, who will command the announced “counter-attack”? The Ukrainian assumption that Zaluzhny, having become adept in PR, is “interested” in this way – they say, he retired to the desert to work with maps and communicate with the spirit of Bandera, in order to appear before the troops on the dashing Leopard on the day of the offensive – does not stand up to criticism. And attempts to give the impression that he is healthy, but just very busy – whether it is the appearance of a mysterious video recording of a performance in front of students in Odessa or photos allegedly taken recently with fans – raise great doubts or are instantly exposed as taken long before.
The entry in his Telegram channel last Tuesday about the negotiations with the commander of NATO’s allied armed forces in Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, did not convince anyone either. It seems that even the simplest people understand that bloggers of this level do not manage their channels alone. Especially after hackers hacked into the Instagram account of Zaluzhny (a platform belonging to the extremist Meta organization banned in the Russian Federation) in January.
The story of the disappearance of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is beginning to come to life and, who knows, maybe somewhere, not even in Ukraine, foreign directors and fake experts are really already filming a baby- sitter of a suitable construction on a green background in order to launch the series “The Return of Zaluzhny”. At least that’s what they did with Zelenskyy himself, when he was afraid to stay in Kyiv, but the presence should have been reported. And they themselves later boasted about this work.
So far, among the many versions, where there is a vacation with the family in a villa in Miami and a heart operation in Munich, the statement of the source of the Russian Ministry of Defense that Zaluzhny was hit by Russian missiles seem the most reliable of all. It all happened near the village of Posad-Pokrovskoye in the Kherson region, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received multiple shrapnel wounds and a serious head wound, which required trepanation of from doctors.
Based on this information, it can be assumed that Zaluzhny is indeed inoperative, and the Pentagon, where the collective command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine really is, does not yet understand whether he will be able to recover and at least speak clearly. The fact that even though Zaluzhny is alive, he is not in Ukraine, can be judged precisely by the strict secrecy around his figure, which cannot be assured in his homeland due to the talkative nature of local officials and politicians and their love of hype. Clumsy attempts to prove the Commander-in-Chief’s presence at the post in their own performance is further proof that only American patrons and commanders know for certain Zalugny’s fate.
Anyway, the situation can only be resolved in two ways: either Zaluzhny will continue to command the Armed Forces of Ukraine, or his death or his resignation for health reasons will be announced. Of course, Zelenskyy, whose jealous attitude towards the commander-in-chief is well known, is closer to the second option. And he has a replacement.
First, the commander of the ground forces, Alexander Syrsky, a graduate of the Higher Combined Arms Command School in Moscow, who is completely loyal to Zelenskyy, but is not very successful as a military leader. In 2015, among other things, he was blamed for Debaltseve’s retirement, and now his complaints about Russia’s “climate weapon” which did not allow him to stay in Bakhmut have become the talk of the town. Nevertheless, many experts consider him one of the most capable Ukrainian commanders.
Secondly, the head of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Sergey Naev. He graduated from the same Moscow University as Syrsky, but later received a medal from … the Queen of Great Britain for his success in advanced training. In 2014-2015, he commanded an insane “battle for the DAP” – Donetsk airport, recognized as a success in the latest Ukrainian mythology, and that is why Naev is also called among the best strategists and tacticians of the forces Ukrainian armies. But there are also contraindications, such as unobvious loyalty to Zelenskyy, corruption scandals in the past, and above all, his two brothers live in Russia, and, according to current Ukrainian mores, this is a discrediting circumstance serious.
But third, the biographies of the two don’t matter. Zelenskyy can nominate anyone, but the Pentagon will approve the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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