by President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said a broad overhaul of the country’s military and civilian leadership was needed to restart the war effort against Russia, suggesting that a major restructuring of his government was imminent.
Zelensky’s comments, in a broadcast on Sunday night, indicated that his plans went beyond replacing the top military commander, General Valeriy Zaluzhny. And they pointed to growing turmoil in Ukraine’s leadership at a precarious time, with depleted Ukrainian forces on the defensive and leaders in Kiev waiting to see whether the United States will provide much-needed military and financial assistance.
“A reset is necessary, a new beginning,” Zelensky told the Italian media outlet. Rai News. “I have something serious on my mind, which is not about one person but about the direction of the country’s leadership.”
Friction between the military and civilian governments represents the most serious schism in Ukraine’s leadership since the start of the war nearly two years ago. The acrimony, which has been building for months, appeared to reach a breaking point last week, when Zelensky summoned General Zaluzhny to a meeting to tell him he was being fired, according to Ukrainian officials familiar with the discussion.
Tension in kyiv increases with the prospect of a new mobilization bill that could lead to the recruitment of up to 500,000 soldiers. The bill, which is being debated in the Ukrainian Parliament, could prove politically unpopular among the country’s war-weary citizens.
The plans to reorganize the civilian government mark a break with nearly two years of continuity in Zelensky’s wartime administration, as he had mostly left ministers in service before the full-scale invasion of Russia. Before that, his government had been a revolving door of ministers.
With American aid stalled, political analysts have suggested that Zelensky could promote Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, who is seen as a supporter of the Biden administration, to a senior position in Kiev. The US government has been pushing to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards on the billions of dollars in financial and military aid Ukraine is receiving during the war.
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are at perhaps their weakest point since the summer of 2022. Lacking ammunition and personnel, they are struggling to slow renewed Russian offensives along the entire front, with the epicenter of the fighting around from the battered city of Avdiivka in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russian soldiers, using dense cloud cover to evade detection by Ukrainian surveillance drones, managed to break into the northern outskirts of the city in recent days, according to Ukrainian soldiers in the area.
They are increasingly threatening a vital supply line and Ukraine’s control over the city. The fall of Avdiivka would represent the most significant victory for Russian forces since they took Bakhmut in May, and would open new assault lines in the Kremlin’s attempt to seize the entire eastern Donbas region.
It could also free up resources for another Russian advance that will take place several hundred kilometers to the north, in the Kharkiv region.
Moscow has massed more than 40,000 troops and hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles near Kupiansk, part of what Ukrainian military commanders said is an intensifying attempt to recapture territory in Kharkiv that Russian forces lost in a Ukrainian offensive. more than a year ago.
Ukrainian defense has been hampered by the suspension of vital US military assistance, and House Republican lawmakers have blocked repeated efforts to provide new funding.
The lack of assistance has not only resulted in a critical shortage of artillery and other weapons, but has also made planning for the future extremely difficult.
Even before the stalemate in Washington, newly committed aid to Ukraine had fallen nearly 90 percent between August and October compared with the same period in 2022, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economya German research institute.
While Senate Republicans and Democrats on Sunday unveiled a $118.3 billion bill that tied $60 billion in security aid for Ukraine to assistance to Israel as well as U.S. border security reforms United States President Mike Johnson, who had insisted on linking the disparate issues, has said the bill would be “dead on arrival” in the Republican-controlled House.
Former President Donald J. Trump is campaigning against the deal and pressuring his supporters in Congress to block it.
Biden on Sunday urged lawmakers to pass the legislation, saying that “if we don’t stop Putin’s appetite for power and control in Ukraine, it will go beyond Ukraine and the cost to the United States will increase.”
Zelensky’s frustrations with General Zaluzhny have grown over the past year, as the fighting has bogged down in bloody, static trench warfare. But Zelensky has acted cautiously.
Replacing the general in command of the army in the midst of a Russian offensive along almost the entire Eastern Front carries risks, as General Zaluzhny is well regarded by soldiers and junior officers. His removal would be the most significant change in military leadership after the invasion.
“The soldiers see him as a leader, him and no one else,” said an Army major who asked to be identified only by his first name, Bohdan. Other officers have said the military, respectful of hierarchy, would adapt quickly.
The general’s removal could also fuel concerns about instability in kyiv’s wartime leadership and would almost certainly be used by Russian propagandists to paint Zelensky as an undemocratic tyrant.
After General Zaluzhny, the most high-profile military leaders in Ukraine are General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the military intelligence agency, and General Oleksandr Syrsky, commander of the ground forces.
It is possible that Zelensky is trying to silence the possible backlash against General Zaluzhny’s dismissal by positioning it as just one measure within a broader realignment.
“When we talk about this, I mean the replacement of a number of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the army,” Zelensky said in Sunday’s broadcast, when asked about reports that he planned to replace General Zaluzhny . . “If we want to win, we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory.”
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, said the White House had been consulted about possible changes to Ukraine’s leadership and would not intervene in personnel decisions.
“It is the sovereign right of Ukraine and the right of the president of Ukraine to make his personal decisions.” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “We have been clear, we are simply not going to get involved in that particular decision. “We have indicated this directly to the Ukrainians.”
