As reality closes in upon the “fight to the last Ukrainian” group around President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, there are signs of both opposition and the regime’s rigid reactions. Much of this was occasioned by last week’s comments by the Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhny that, given Ukraine’s present military capabilities, there would be no reconquering lands nor a military defeat of Russia. Both Zelenskyy and Oleksiy Danilov, the head of the National Security and Defense Council, publicly chastised Zaluzhny, but there’s more to the fight, as to whether it is permissible for Ukrainians to exit from Zelenskyy’s fantasies and deliberate over hard realities, including peace with Russia.
Today’s Washington Post cited the Presidency’s unexplained removal of Gen. Viktor Khorenko, the head of Ukraine’s special forces. Ukrainska Pravda reported that Khorenko, who served under Zaluzhny, “learned about it from the media” and, further, was unaware of the reason for being dismissed. He added that Zaluzhny also appeared blindsided by the announcement and “could not explain this to me.” Then the new Defense Minister Rustem Umerov responded, on Facebook that he could not publicly describe the reasons for Khorenko’s dismissal because such revelations could aid Russia.
That provoked Pavlo Rozenko, a former vice prime minister, to respond: “You made a very big mistake when you made this submission behind Zaluzhny’s back. And it is precisely such mistakes that weaken Ukraine in this war! … It is very unfortunate that political intrigues prevail in this situation!” His comment triggered a cascade of approvals and more than a few positive comments. One speculated that Khorenko was dismissed because “it was not possible to dislodge Zaluzhny.”
However, the suspicious death on Nov. 6 of Zaluzhny’s aide and close friend, Maj. Gennady Chastyakov, from an explosion in his home, has escalated the situation. The authorities have been quick to state the results of the investigation before it is barely underway, that it was an unfortunate accident, because the six grenades that Chatyakov had been given as a birthday present were live grenades. Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko led the way with such a narrative, with the warning that he was providing the “official” account and that non-official accounts should cease. But within 24 hours, that narrative went up in smoke.
Now it has come out, according to Ukrainska Pravda, that Chastyakov’s wife had stated that the “grenades” were gift glasses meant to look like grenades—something that would not have fooled her military-trained husband—and that the explosion occurred while opening up a package. And Zaluzhny, possibly after hearing from her, has only said from the beginning that his close friend had died from “an unidentified explosive device.” Nothing is definitive here except that at least one major coverup has been attempted by Klymenko in the first 24 hours, and Zaluzhny suspects thathe is being targeted, whether Chastyakov’s death is part of that or not.
One who picked up on Zaluzhny’s language, that a “swift and beautiful victory” may not be in the cards for Ukraine, is Oleksii Arestovych, who has announced that he wants to challenge Zelenskyy in a Presidential election—should one ever be allowed. Such matters are just the beginning, indicating some in Ukraine may not wish to “drink the Kool-Aid”—and they are meeting with a hard-line “Don’t bring up such matters, as we’re in a war.”
