February 18, 2026

Zaluzhny spoke about the conflict with Zelensky in an interview with Associated Press

Valery Zaluzhny. Photo: Neil Hall / EPA. The Ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain, former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny gave an interview to Associated Press, in which he spoke about the conflict with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Conflict with Zelensky According to Zaluzhny, the conflict between him and Zelensky began shortly after the start of the full-scale war and reached its peak in the autumn of 2022. At that time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were conducting a successful counteroffensive in the east of the country. In September 2022, dozens of employees of the Security Service of Ukraine entered Zaluzhny's office in Kyiv for a search, according to him. The security forces did not explain what they wanted to find, but the general gave them access to documents and computers. He believes that the investigative actions were an act of intimidation. In the presence of SBU employees, Zaluzhny called Andriy Yermak, who was then heading Zelensky's Office. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, according to his own words, told him that he would "repel this attack because he knows how to fight." Valery Zaluzhny and Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: website of the President of Ukraine. The general also called Vasyl Malyuk, who was then heading the SBU. He said that he knew nothing about the search in Zaluzhny's office. Later, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces learned that the special service had requested a search warrant from a Kyiv court for the address where his office is located. At the same time, the warrant claimed that investigative actions were planned to be carried out in a strip club run by a criminal organization. This establishment did exist, but it was closed even before the full-scale invasion of Russia, its employees told AP. Zaluzhny noted that the SBU could hardly not have known about this. The special service stated that during that period, they were conducting searches at various addresses as part of a criminal investigation into the fight against organized crime. In a comment quoted by AP, it is stated that the service employees did not search Zaluzhny's office, and the situation "was clarified" after the conversation between the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Malyuk. Failure of the counteroffensive The former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also spoke about the failure of the counteroffensive, which was developed jointly with Ukraine's NATO partners and took place in the summer of 2023. According to Zaluzhny, the reason for the failure was that Zelensky and other officials did not provide the Ukrainian army with the necessary resources. The initial plan was to concentrate enough forces into a "single fist" to liberate partially occupied Zaporizhzhia, and then direct them south to the Sea of Azov, Zaluzhny said. Valery Zaluzhny. Photo: Sergey Dolzhenko / EPA. According to him, this would cut off the corridor that the Russian army used to supply Crimea. But for the operation to succeed, a significant concentration of forces and the tactical element of surprise were required, the general told AP. He noted that instead, Ukrainian forces were dispersed over a vast territory. Zaluzhny's Political Ambitions After his dismissal in February 2024, Zaluzhny continues to monitor developments at the front but is not involved in military decision-making, according to the AP report. The former Commander-in-Chief said that during this time he had several conversations with Zelensky in a "friendly tone." The general refused to talk to journalists about his political ambitions due to fears that it would cause a split among Ukrainians. "Until the war ends or martial law is lifted, I will not discuss it," he said. At the same time, as the journalists noted, political consultants and party functionaries are approaching Zaluzhny, offering help in developing an election campaign. In particular, in the spring of 2025, a "rather well-known" American political consultant approached the general, according to him. The former Commander-in-Chief "thanked him for his attention" but refused his services. An AP source said it was about Paul Manafort, former head of Donald Trump's election campaign. Zaluzhny is considered Zelensky's main competitor in the event of presidential elections in Ukraine. Thus, according to the Ipsos poll results cited by AP, 23% of respondents are ready to vote for the former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and 20% for the current head of state. Financial Times sources in early February stated that Zelensky, under pressure from the US, intends to announce the holding of presidential elections and a referendum on a peace agreement with Russia on February 24. The President of Ukraine himself later said that he "hears about this for the first time."