Who benefits from spreading rumors about the confrontation between the president and the Commander-in-Chief of the AFU

In fact, reports of Valerii Zaluzhnyi's dismissal and the confrontation between him and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy have been circulating in the information space since February 2022. The primary sources of such reports were russian military commanders and other representatives of the russian propaganda machine. They were the ones who spread fakes about the death of not only Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, but also the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov.

What was the result each time? We can all see that both Valerii Fedorovich and Kyrylo Alekseevich are alive and well. The same cannot be said about russian generals who have been killed in Ukraine since February 2022 more than in any other war or conflict over the past 50 years.

Moreover, it is the russian commanders, along with their groups of troops, who change like gloves at the front because they cannot satisfy the high command of the aggressor country. Let us recall, for example, general serdyukov, the former commander of the Airborne Forces. He was sent to Syria for the failure of the offensive on Kyiv. He was followed by the former commander of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Western Military District, Lieutenant General serhiy kysil, for the failure in the Kharkiv region. General popov went in the same direction, daring to say that the counter-battery fight of the Ukrainian Defense Forces is much more effective than that of the russian army.

Thus, by spreading rumors about Zaluzhnyi's dismissal, russian propaganda has been trying to minimize the effect of its own defeats since 2022. However, it's important to understand several aspects regarding the dissemination of this information.

Just ask yourself a simple question: if Ukraine's military and political leaders do not find common ground, how could a country resisting an enemy like russia not only hold the line but also successfully counterattack? How did they manage to liberate Chernihiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Kharkiv and the right-bank part of Kherson region from the occupiers?"

The fact that Valerii Zaluzhnyi and Volodymyr Zelenskyy have different approaches and views on solving the same problem is not surprising. Zaluzhnyi is a military officer, while Zelenskyy is a politician, which is why their approaches differ. But in general, for almost 2 years, this has not become a critical problem on the battlefield."

Now, recently, the argument has been increasingly heard that the growing popularity of Valerii Zaluzhnyi alarms Zelenskyy, who does not want to see competition in the person of the commander-in-chief, and intends to dismiss him from his post.

It was against the backdrop of such stuffing that a large-scale leak was made on January 29 about the dismissal of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, which was never confirmed by official sources. And the main mistake and misunderstanding of those who disseminated this information is that, holding the position of commander-in-chief and being a career military officer, Valerii Zaluzhnyi cannot legally engage in politics, but after his dismissal, all doors in this direction open for him."

Theoretically, trying to get rid of a political rival, Zelenskyy will not only create a political rival himself, but also provide him with all the conditions for such a formation? Besides, there will be no presidential elections as long as the war in Ukraine continues. That is, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has no reason to fear the growing popularity of Valerii Zaluzhnyi, since he will not be able to engage in politics while he is still in service, and even if he does, it will not be for the presidential election, which is not expected in the near future.

The lack of logic in rumors always raises doubts about their veracity, and in such cases, we should just wait and see whether they are confirmed or not. So far, at this stage, there has been no confirmation."

But, let's imagine that the dismissal will happen.

In general, Zaluzhnyi is not the only one who is involved in planning defense and offensive operations, and in the event of a hypothetical dismissal, his place will be taken by a person who has information that is up to date. This could be one of the generals who is currently in command of troops in one of the areas. Therefore, it's unlikely there would be a collapse."

On the other hand, such an event may have a corresponding moral and psychological, demoralizing impact on soldiers, but of a short-term nature. It can be much longer in the rear and even provoke protest moods, since the commander-in-chief enjoys high authority and respect not only among the military but also among the civilian population. And his trust rating exceeds even the rating of the head of state.

The problem is that the russians are very well aware of this, and can use manipulations on the topic of the "conflict" between Zaluzhnyi and Zelenskyy, as well as the hypothetical dismissal, to destabilize the country internally and undermine the social and public situation in the country. Worst of all, internal forces in Ukraine, which have quickly forgotten what information hygiene and critical thinking are, can be used to spread such narratives.

Thus, it is better for all so-called opinion leaders to think more before massively setting fire to the information space with such statements, and then making excuses, saying that everything will still be, but the decree has not yet been signed.