Is Valery Zaluzhny about to be fired?

Tension between the president and General Zaluzhnyi has grown. Ousting the general would go down badly with Ukrainian troops

The Zelenskiy administration has been rocked by a fresh corruption scandal at the Defence Ministry this week. Senior unnamed Defence Ministry officials and top managers at a leading arms manufacturer were busted by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) for running a UAH1.5bn ($40mn) scam to procure artillery shells that were never delivered. Five suspects have been issued with “suspicion of wrongdoing notice” and one was arrested trying to flee the country.

Removal of Valeriy Zaluzhny would mark biggest shake-up of military command since Russia’s full-scale invasion

Following the failure of Ukraine’s counteroffensive last summer, the Biden administration is recalibrating its strategy and has abandoned hopes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) retaking any territory in 2024. Instead it recommends a switch to a more defensive stance to buy time for Ukraine to rearm itself and replenish its forces, the Washington Post reported January 26.

It’s hard to ignore the sense of desperation in Ukraine’s corridors of power. Nearing two years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, authorities in Kyiv maintain their long-standing entreaty to partners in the West: Deliver us more arms, more aid, more political commitments.

Here is another article of delusional hopium courtesy of the folks at War on the Rocks. HOLD, BUILD, AND STRIKE: A VISION FOR REBUILDING UKRAINE’S ADVANTAGE IN 2024 by Michael Kofman, Rob Lee and Dara Massicot is a well-written exercise in fantasy. They start off with a moment of clarity:

With the war started by Russia entering its third year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is also fighting on another front—corruption.

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Ukraine’s SBU security service said on Saturday it had uncovered a corruption scheme in the purchase of arms by the country’s military totalling the equivalent of about $40 million.

A proposed bill on mobilization has become the focus of a debate as more men dodge the draft and calls rise to demobilize exhausted soldiers.