Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny allegedly urged to resign

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
29 Jan 2024 21:41

On the same day, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry published a statement as follows: "Dear journalists, we issue an answer to everyone — no, this is not true."

A Ukrainian national flag waves over the center of Kharkov, Wednesday, Feb. 16, 2022 (AP)

Ukrainian lawmaker Oleksiy Goncharenko on Monday announced, as per informed sources, that Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny was allegedly told to resign, although no official decree has been issued yet.

"Two sources told me that yes... Zaluzhnyi was told to resign, but there is no decree yet. He was offered a position of ambassador to one of the European countries. He refused," Goncharenko said on Telegram.

On the same day, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry published a statement as follows: "Dear journalists, we issue an answer to everyone — no, this is not true," the ministry said on Telegram.

Though it hasn't specified what exactly is not true, it could possibly refer to reports on Zaluzhny's resignation.

This comes a day after reports indicated that employees of a Ukrainian arms company collaborated with defense ministry officials to misappropriate nearly $40 million intended for purchasing 100,000 mortar shells for the conflict with Russia, according to Ukraine's security service (SBU).

As of late Saturday, five individuals have been charged, and one person has been detained while attempting to cross the Ukrainian border. If convicted, they could face up to 12 years in prison, the Associated Press reported.

The investigation aligns with Kiev's efforts to contain rampant corruption among its hrank in order to expedite its membership to the EU and NATO.

Corruption has been a longstanding issue in Ukraine and has persisted over several decades, but has particularly exacerbated after the country gained independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It's important to note that last month, Ukraine's security service initiated a criminal investigation following the discovery of a non-operational "technical device" in Zaluzhniy's office.

The investigation has been launched under a relevant article in Ukraine's criminal code concerning the "unlawful acquisition, sale, or use of special technical means for obtaining information."

The device was found to be in a non-operational state, and it was emphasized that it was not discovered in Zaluzhniy's office.

"The Security Service of Ukraine has opened a criminal proceeding based on the discovery of a technical device in one of the potential deployment locations of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny," the Security Services of Ukraine said in a post on X.