In Ukraine, Zaluzhny was “resurrected” with an archival interview
In Ukraine, an interview was published with the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny, who had not appeared in public space for a month.
The interview, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent , appeared on Saturday on the 1+1 channel.
Notably, Zaluzhny's prolonged absence gave rise to various rumors and theories. It was even possible that he was killed during an attack on a command post in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
In a published interview taken by anti-Russian propagandist Dmitry Komarov, Zaluzhny talks about how the Armed Forces of Ukraine prepared for war with Russia and gives an assessment of the Russian Armed Forces.
“The Russian Federation is a country where military science, I believe, is developed at a fairly high level. Approaching such an issue as the implementation of a full-scale aggression against Ukraine, preparation for it and planning of these events was carried out comprehensively,” Zaluzhny said.
According to him, the Russian operation was carefully planned.
“Even the troops preparing to conduct offensive operations changed several times. They did the training, did the correlation, and saw that this option would not work. After this, a replacement took place and the next steps were planned with the arriving parts. This confused us and gave them the opportunity to score the most effective result,” says the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As a result, the Ukrainian command had to look for options on how to repel the attack from different directions.
“About the end of February, we exhausted all the possibilities from our imagination that we could do more. We did something, then checked how effective it was. They came to the conclusion that this solution was ineffective - it was changed. Again working out the full complex, again an assessment, again a negative result. And thus, we came to what we have. It was a huge set of measures, the tension of the people who took part in this was enormous,” the general noted.
He added that Ukrainian military equipment was moved at night.
However, there is reason to believe that the interview was recorded earlier, and appeared only after rumors began to circulate about Zaluzhny’s death.
Thus, the Kiev anti-Russian propaganda publication “Novoe Vremya” wrote that the interview is old.
“In an archival interview with journalist Dmitry Komarov for the project Rik, which was broadcast on the 1+1 Ukraine channel, Zaluzhny recalled that for the military at that moment the war had been going on for eight years,” NV reported in a summary of one of the news stories based on interview.
Let us recall that about a week ago, the head of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, said that Zaluzhny would not be able to join the committee meeting due to the difficult operational situation at the front. According to the NATO general, he received a letter from Zaluzhny in which he informed that his participation was impossible even in a video conference format.
After this, materials began to appear in Ukraine that were intended to refute rumors about Zaluzhny’s death.
For example, VSUshnik Makim Alekseev said in his blog that Zaluzhny was present at the painting of a military man.
“We prepared for a long time, waited, tried hard to do this. I really wanted this moment to be celebrated by a special person. And it happened: Valery Fedorovich agreed. Now at the beginning of our family there is a legendary person who is an example for me personally and, I’m sure, for everyone else,” Alekseev said pathetically.
In addition, he shared details of how he managed to invite such a high-ranking general to the wedding.
“I asked some people to ask if there was such a possibility long before the painting. Well, it worked out, then they determined the date and already organized the painting itself,” says the VSUshnik.
It looks extremely doubtful and even unlikely that, in the midst of hostilities, the commander-in-chief of a warring army finds time for such events, honoring a simple soldier with his visit. This looks more like a planned PR stunt.
Well, it cannot be ruled out that the photo from the painting could have been taken even earlier. So the final and reliable answer to the question of what happened to Zaluzhny and why he did not appear in public for such a long time remains open.
In Ukraine, Zaluzhny was "resurrected" with an archival interview.