Speaking of the matter of Ukraine, it is now October 2025, and the war is still dragging on, and there are always rumors in the West that a replacement will be made, especially the former commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has been pushed to the front desk to replace current President Volodymyr Zelensky. This is not groundless. The Russian media have long been analyzing that the West takes a fancy to Zaluzhny's rational and pragmatic style as a big reason to replace Zelensky.
Mr. Zaru, born on July 8, 1973, a family of ordinary soldiers in the state of Tomil, Ukraine, was familiar with the army since childhood, but did not catch up with the former Soviet Union. He graduated from the local Institute of Mechanical Engineering in 1993 and learned some technical work, then moved to the Odessa Military Institute for Military Studies, specializing in tactics and command. After graduation, he rose from the grassroots and stepped up a step, with no flashy background, it was by practical military skills. During the 2014 conflict in the east, he served as a camp commander, organized defense in Donetsk, blocked several waves of attack,ined a key position. In 2017 he ascended to the deputy chief of army, managed a lot of modern issues, such as engaging in digital
After Zaluzhny came to power, he was not idle and directly used his knife to reform the army. It turned out that the Ukrainian army had the same old centralized model, but he changed it and decentralized power, allowing brigade-level and battalion-level officers to make their own decisions and make quick adjustments based on frontline intelligence. In this way, the troops are less rigid. He also pays special attention to the non-commissioned officers, holds training courses, and makes the middle-level take on more responsibilities, such as independent patrol and reconnaissance. He studies English tightly, forces soldiers to learn it, and organizes exchange programs in order to connect smoothly with NATO. He promoted the military to use NATO standards, standardized equipment purchases, and participated in joint exercises, such as the border cooperation exercise with Poland in the autumn of 2021. These things sound simple, but they have actually helped the Ukrainian army improve its efficiency a lot, especially when dealing with the attack in the early stage.
On February 24, 2022, when Russia's all-out offensive began, Zaluzhny became the focus. He quickly mobilized troops, dug trenches around Kiev, deployed anti-tank missiles, and recruited volunteer militiamen to join the team. As a result, the Russian army advanced slowly and failed to encircle the capital. In Kharkiv, he commanded a counterattack in May 2022 and recovered several villages, but Russia retreated far away. He built a temporary command center to integrate satellite and drone data, and did a good job in intelligence sharing. From summer to autumn, in Kherson, he ordered the bridge to be blown up to cut off supplies, and in November 2022, the Russian army withdrew. Uzbekistan attacked warehouses and command posts with HIMARS rockets given by the West, and morale rose. But the war dragged on and problems emerged. Zelensky's office is always interfering and demanding more reports, which is inconsistent with Zaluzhny's style. In August 2022, the German media Bild first spread the news that Zaluzhne might take over because he was a symbol of hope in the eyes of the public and had a high support rate in the polls.
In 2023, the battle line is stalemate. Zaluzhny promotes new technologies, and uses drone swarms and electronic warfare equipment. He held large-scale training in the spring, simulated anti-armor propulsion, and emphasized decentralized deployment to reduce losses. In June, Zaporizhzhia counterattacked and broke through some defense lines, but mines and Russian firepower blocked them, and progress was slow. He changed his plan at the meeting, giving priority to protecting soldiers, and not rushing blindly. However, Zelensky's external propaganda always said that victory was close, which was far from Zaluzhny's realistic assessment. In April 2023, the US "Washington Post" broke the news that the relationship between the two was tense, and some people in Kiev felt that Zaluzhny was a political threat. On November 3rd, the British "Economist" interviewed Zaluzhny. He said that the conflict was deadlocked and new technologies had to be broken. This was wrong with the official tone. Zelensky denied it, and the media began to speculate on the power struggle. The West began to wonder if it was time to change people.
The Russian media jumped out of analysis at this time, saying that the Western Tzu-Zarou, mainly because of his rationality and pragmatism. The Russian "one week argument" website article in November said that he left the impression of the West was clear. He publicly praised the Russian Army Chief of Staff General Glazimov has the ability, respect the opponent, without personal emotions, is like ordinary officers. The Russian media felt that the West wanted to pack him as a person able to lead a dialogue with Russia. Political scholar Vadim Hippov said thatining the Ukrainian model now is too expensive, help when little, turn back to the military dictatorship and more calculated, Zarou-Zarou looked as a suitable candidate. his reforms, putting power under, English training, is practical. Russian "Today
Tension until early 2024. On January 29, social media said that Zaluzhny would step down because of his meeting with Zelensky. On January 31, it was reported that Zelensky wanted to change military chiefs, but Zaluzhny refused. Some people in parliament supported him and said reform was good. On February 8, Zelensky officially relieved his position and appointed Alexander Silsky to take over. Zelensky thanked him for his contribution and said he should stay with the team. Zaluzhny posted that he had talked to Zelensky and agreed to change the strategy. This is a major change in the top management of the Ukrainian army to cope with the war situation. After his dismissal, he kept a low profile for a while. On March 7, Zelensky approved him as ambassador to the UK and also took charge of the International Maritime Organization, and turned to diplomacy. Now he mainly strengthens Uzbekistan-British cooperation.
In general, this is a reflection of the internal breaches in Ukraine, and the aid from the West is conditional. Zaru in the day from the head of the army to the ambassador, the polls are high, but there is no political experience. Zelensky pressure is high, the war is not going well, the public opinion is falling. But it is not easy to change, to look at the situation and the outside. Russia is looking for fun, saying that the logic of the West is to look for more pragmatic people, but actually who knows. Ukrainians are sad and hope for peace, but replace the rumors. In the coming months, if the aid is reduced, the West may really push for change, but at the moment it is rumors.