”The ZSU underneath Zaluzhny survived the preliminary Russian onslaught. Alone that was an important achievement — as a result of nearly everyone, and thus [Russian President Vladimir] Putin too, anticipated the ZSU to fold and run away,” mentioned
Austrian navy analyst Tom Cooper.
However his file was tarnished by the failure of final 12 months’s counteroffensive, which bumped into well-prepared Russians defenses.
The president and his prime basic more and more differed over technique and in addition clashed over Zaluzhny’s rising recognition, which made him a possible political menace to Zelenskyy.
Zaluzhny has pressed for a brand new conscription legislation that might improve the scale of the navy, however the laws is politically fraught and Zelenskyy has taken a hands-off angle.
Zaluzhny has additionally taken an more and more grim view of the battle, which clashes with Zelenskyy’s effort to indicate that Ukraine is making good progress as a means of making certain Kyiv’s allies keep dedicated.
In an essay for the Economist final 12 months that infuriated Zelenskyy, Zaluzhny in contrast the state of the battle to a stalemate just like the First World Conflict.
Zaluzhny was appointed commander-in-chief in July 2021, simply half a 12 months earlier than Russia launched its all-out invasion.
He has tried to interrupt with Ukraine’s Soviet navy traditions and produce Ukraine into line with NATO requirements. He additionally referred to as on Ukraine to leverage its benefit in areas like drone warfare to make up for Russia’s superiority in males and weapons.