The commencement of political upheavals in world affairs sometimes lies with a seemingly obscure event. This is not to say that the shooting down of a Russian Ilyushin-76 military transport plane carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war over the territory of Belgorod Region by two missiles fired from the area of Liptsy, in Kharkov Region (Ukraine) on January 24 is anything like the spark that set off World War I when a Serbian patriot shot and killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand in the city of Sarajevo in 1914 and within a month, the Austrian army invaded Serbia.

Russian plane full of Ukrainian POWs near Ukrainian border likely shot down with Patriot missile system only Americans can seemingly operate

There is little sympathy for them in their society, but rare prison interviews with those convicted of helping the Russians reveal a complex picture of war

Zelenskiy faces outspoken general, supply delays from allies. Army chief Zaluzhnyi has differed with president over approach

The endgame shouldn’t be teaching anyone a lesson, but laying the groundwork for a lasting peace writes Dr. Alexander Hill

UK security pact with Kyiv lays mines for immediate diplomacy, which is what is needed most now

Ukrainian General Valery Zaluzhny wants the war to end now, and President Volodymyr Zelensky may just have fired him

The Russians have adapted to all Western arms. Not to acknowledge the situation today is toying with the fate of a nation

It is reported by a Ukrainian news source yesterday that Zelenskiy had asked his commander-in-chief Zaluzhnyi to resign, but that Zaluzhnyi had declined to do so, while recognizing that it was the President’s right to choose whomsoever he wanted to work with. Zaluzhnyi has been offered alternative positions, such as an ambassadorship, and the office of secretary of the national committee of defense. Today, reports appear to confirm that Zaluzhnyi had been told by Zelenskiy that if he did not resign he would be dismissed and that Zelenskiy had been about to implement a formal dismissal only to find that the supposed replacement for Zaluzhniy – the head of military intelligence, the SBU namely, Kryrlo Bodanov – has now said he does not want the job. So Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal has been postponed, presumably until a suitable relacement can be found.

Is he out or not? After a night of claim, counter-claim, rumour and speculation, it appears that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has decided not to dismiss his commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny. Tension, however, clearly remains between the two – and this is bad news for Ukraine.