Zelensky’s rivalry with Zaluzhny spells bad news for Ukraine

Is he out or not? After a night of claim, counter-claim, rumour and speculation, it appears that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has decided not to dismiss his commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny. Tension, however, clearly remains between the two – and this is bad news for Ukraine.

Ukrainian news outlets were the first to begin claiming that General Zaluzhny had either been dismissed or was about to be. Insider sources contacted by well-connected Western journalists were, on balance, also apparently confirming rather than denying the claims. Ukrainian parliamentarian Oleksy Goncharenko asserted that Zaluzhny had resigned and had refused the offer of an ambassadorial position in Europe. Quickly, though, the pendulum of reporting swung the other way, and as of this morning it was clear that Zaluzhny was still in position. As the defence ministry’s press office posted on Telegram: ‘Dear journalists, we’re answering everyone at once: no, this is not true.’

So was this just an example of how, in the fervid modern social media environment, a baseless rumour can spread like proverbial wildfire? Not quite: there does seem to be something here.