MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has arrived in Kiev on a visit to look into the conflict between Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, Russia’s chief delegate to the military security and arms control talks in Vienna, Konstantin Gavrilov, has said.
"Nuland has flown there for a good reason, apparently to sort things out and clear up this conflict between Zelensky and Zaluzhny and to find out what is really happening and how it might all end," Gavrilov said in an interview with the Rossiya-24 TV channel. "The way I see it, the Americans will be making inquiries. There will be talks, I think, with Zaluzhny, with President Zelensky, and so on. Recommendations will be given," he said, responding to a question about the aims Nuland's visit pursued.
The diplomat also believes that Nuland does not have the task of reconciling Zelensky and Zaluzhny.
"It’s gone too far. Any reconciliation is unlikely," he added.
Gavrilov noted that it did not matter for Russia who would be the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces - Zaluzhny or someone else.
Zaluzhny’s rumored dismissal
On Monday, a former member of the Verkhovna Rada, Borislav Beryoza, announced that Zaluzhny had been removed from the position of the armed forces’ commander-in-chief. The president's office reportedly received several phone calls from angry foreign partners. In turn, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Alexey Goncharenko stated that Zaluzhny had been notified of his resignation, but there was no corresponding decree yet. Later, presidential spokesman, Sergey Nikiforov, explained that Zelensky had not dismissed Zaluzhny.
However, speculations about Zaluzhny's fate have continued in Ukrainian media and social networks to this day. On Wednesday, the US daily The Washington Post, citing high-ranking sources in Kiev, reported that Zaluzhny would retain his position for the time being, but the decision on his resignation had already been made.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that there were many questions regarding the news about Zaluzhny, but it was obvious that "everything goes wrong" for the Kiev regime. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the situation involving Zaluzhny’s dismissal reflected the agony and disintegration of Ukraine's statehood.