President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and the breakthrough of the russians in the Kharkiv Region, and noted that Syrskyi faced serious challenges when the Ukrainian army was forced to oppose the enemy without the arrival of Western weapons.
Zelenskyy said this at a press conference, the Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"We have been waiting for the weapons and the (US) vote on the package for almost 8 months. This is a very serious challenge. I do not want to compare (Syrskyi with ex-commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi), I treat everyone with the appropriate respect, everyone performs or performed their task in their place," he said.
Zelenskyy said that it is difficult for him to say what would have happened if the leadership of the army had not changed and he does not want to talk about it now.
"These questions and conversations are post-war. We must respect everyone and be grateful to everyone who works and fights for Ukraine and protects our state," the President said.
He also noted that he does not think that anyone in the place of Syrskyi would be able to prevent the russians from breaking through in the Kharkiv Region.
"I don't think that if someone had been in the place of Syrskyi, there wouldn't have been a corresponding breakthrough. I think it would have been, because that's what the russians wanted and the task was to enter and occupy Kharkiv. The big plus in this situation regarding Syrskyi is that he knows Kharkiv and that’s not small issue. He reconquered that region and the successful operation was under his command. They stop them - well done! They didn't let Kharkiv be occupied without (aid) package! And then we'll deal with the details when we have a break,” Zelenskyy said.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in February, Zelenskyy appointed the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi instead of Valerii Zaluzhnyi as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On July 11, the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that he officially began to perform the duties of the Ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain.
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