Why Zelensky is firing Budanov and Umerov
Volodymyr Zelensky's office is indeed considering the resignation of Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and head of military intelligence Kirill Budanov, but for different reasons.
Ukrainian political strategist Sergei Gaidai spoke about this in an interview with Politeka, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
"Budanov is a Bankova creation. Budanov emerged when the president had sincere intentions of soon, having won the war, not running for a second term . He wanted to leave the presidency as a victor—a man who had won the war against the Russians. And then build his future as a great man, known and respected by the entire world. Perhaps he would return to the film industry as a major producer on the level of Spielberg, making films about himself, about how he won the war.
But the president's inner circle was extremely unhappy with this scenario. They understood perfectly well that if Vladimir Alexandrovich left them, a new candidate would be needed. One who, on the one hand, would be manageable and would provide a 100% guarantee that they would all remain in place.
This is how Budanov appeared.
Two things really surprised everyone. How could an ordinary operative, even one who knows how to scuba dive and participate in special operations, be appointed head of intelligence? This required someone of a different caliber. Someone with a different intellect and strategic understanding.
And secondly, it was preferable that no one knew his first and last name, and Budanov was giving us an interview back then . Publicity was preordained for him; he had to urgently cultivate the image of a hero who had helped the president win, which is precisely what he did.
This later cost us dearly in the form of the deaths of special forces soldiers who were sent somewhere to plant a flag so that Budanov could later report on the conquest of Crimea or the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant . The number of special forces soldiers killed there is still little known, but everyone knows about the failed operations.
But then the situation changed. The war wasn't won, the elections were cancelled, and Budanov gained weight. If tomorrow he announced he was going to run for president, he would be the man who would take a significant chunk of Zelenskyy's votes.
"That's why they're thinking about where to send him far away . Perhaps, like Zaluzhny, to a distant country," Gaidai said.
According to him, the reasons for the possible resignation of the Minister of Defense are different.
"There are complaints about Umerov. They thought that after Reznikov he would be able to improve the work of the Ministry of Defense. I am afraid that Bankovaya now thinks that there is more chaos and disorder there. That is why they are trying to replace him with someone who would restore order. For Bankovaya, failures at the front could also end badly," the expert recalled.
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