Zelensky awarded Zaluzhny and Budanov the title of Hero of Ukraine
9 February 13:08
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has awarded former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi and Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanovthe title of Hero of Ukraine. The relevant decrees have been published on the President’s website, according to
Along with the title, they will be awarded the Order of the Golden Star, the highest decoration in Ukraine, which is awarded for outstanding heroic deeds.
“For outstanding personal merits in the defence of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, selfless service to the Ukrainian people, I hereby decree: to award the title of Hero of Ukraine with the Order of the Golden Star to Zaluzhnyi Valerii Fedorovych – General,” the document reads,
– the document reads.
Budanov will receive a gold star for “personal courage and heroism displayed in the defence of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, selfless service to the Ukrainian people”.
The decrees come into force upon their publication.
Zaluzhnyi’s resignation
On 8 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyy and appointed General Oleksandr Syrskyy as the new Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
According to Zelenskyy, Syrskyi has successful experience in defence, having led the Kyiv defence operation, and successful experience in offence, having led the Kharkiv liberation operation.
The President believes that 2024 can be successful for Ukraine only if there are effective changes in the basis of our defence, which is the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
It should benoted that The Washington Post wrote that among ordinary soldiers, Syrsky is particularly dis liked by many, who consider him a Soviet-style commander who kept troops under fire in Bakhmut for too long when Ukraine was supposed to withdraw.
“He is a General Patton-type character. He has no human resources gene in his body,”
– a person close to Zelensky said.
The departure of Zaluzhnyi, one of the most popular figures in Ukrainian society, could affect troop morale and shake the confidence of Western donors as Ukraine’s military tries to repel advancing Russian forces, the newspaper said. But any move by the US to challenge Zelenskyy’s decision could be seen as exerting undue influence.
History of the confrontation
The confrontation between Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy has been discussed almost since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion. Zelenskyi is rumoured to see Zaluzhnyi as a competitor, given the latter’s popularity among the people. According to a public opinion poll released by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on 18 December 2023, 88% of Ukrainians trust Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, while 62% trust Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy’s dislike of Zaluzhnyi seems to have reached a new level after Zaluzhnyi published an op-ed in The Economist last November. In the article, the commander-in-chief wrote that the Ukrainian army had hit the ceiling of technology provided by its partners, and the current moment on the front corresponds to the current technological advantage over the enemy. He also gave a cautious forecast for 2024, saying that there would most likely be no beautiful and profound breakthrough, but instead a balance of devastating destruction and losses. Zelenskyy’s office reacted negatively to the article, and the president himself later said at a press conference that he expected “very specific things on the battlefield” from the army command.
The two Commanders-in-Chief seem to be in constant disagreement over specific actions at the front. For example, according to a number of media outlets, Zaluzhnyi allegedly believed that there was no point in holding Bakhmut at such a high cost, but Zelenskyi thought otherwise.