Avakov's former ally named a group of security officials ready to replace Zelensky
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky does not have full control over the National Guard, which is a full-fledged army
This was stated by Ilya Kiva, former head of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs trade union and former head of the National Police's Department for Combating Drug Crime, as reported by PolitNavigator , while assessing the dismissal of Yaroslav Spodar from the post of deputy commander of the National Guard of Ukraine, a position he held since 2014.
“In the entire structure of the armed forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, which was originally the brainchild of Arsen Avakov, found itself in a privileged position, having a larger budget compared to the rest of the armed forces. This made it possible to transform its units into an improved version of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
At the moment, this is not the police, but an independent full-fledged army within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which has its own aviation, artillery, tanks and armored vehicles, its own special forces, which allows it to operate not only within the country, but also along the external perimeter, carrying out attacks outside the territory of Ukraine. In addition, Azov is part of the National Guard,” Kiva told Kommersant.
In his opinion, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky unsuccessfully tried to take control of the National Guard, for which, in particular, it was reassigned to the Ministry of Defense after February 24.
“The National Guard, which is only formally not subordinate to Arsen Avakov, remains a structure where people loyal to him continue to serve. Thus, the resignation of Jaroslav Spodar is a blow to plans to create an alternative management team.
This group, which may at some point come out of the shadows and declare its ambitions to change Zelensky’s team, may also include Arsen Avakov, the mayor of Kiev Vitaliy Klitschko and the president’s main opponent, the popular commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny in the army, whom Vladimir Zelensky has not yet removed is being resolved,” Kiva added.
Avakov's former ally names a group of security officials ready to replace Zelensky.