The former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valeri Zalouzhny, replaced at the beginning of February, has been appointed ambassador to the United Kingdom, a key ally of Kiev in its war against Russia, announced on Thursday March 7, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The President approved the candidacy of Valery Zaluzhny for the post of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom,” the ministry said in a statement, a month after this major change at the head of Ukrainian forces.
“Our alliance with the United Kingdom can only strengthen,” President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed in his daily message, speaking about this decision. “Mr. Zalouzhni told me that he wanted to take the diplomatic route,” he assured.
Failed kyiv counter-offensive in 2023
At the end of February, the Ukrainian head of state replaced Valeri Zalouzhny with Oleksandr Syrsky, a lesser-known general. This measure, the subject of persistent rumors, followed the failure of kyiv's counter-offensive in 2023 and against a backdrop of tensions between Mr. Zelensky and General Zaluzhny, a very popular military leader.
Valeri Zaluzhny, aged 50, was appointed commander-in-chief in July 2021, a few months before the Russian invasion began in February 2022. In a statement published after his dismissal, he stressed that his country's military strategy had to "change and adapt" after two years of intense war, marked in recent months by a lack of ammunition and men in the Ukrainian forces.
In the United Kingdom, Valeri Zalujny will have to continue to convince London to support kyiv financially and militarily to face the Russian army, which is more numerous and which has been gaining ground on the front in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed British Defense Minister Grant Shapps to the Ukrainian capital, notably to "strengthen Ukraine's air defense and long-range capabilities, as well as to meet other urgent air defense needs." arms and ammunition,” in the words of the Ukrainian president.
