A serious conflict arose between the then Minister of Defense Mikhail Fedorov and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, which led to personnel changes in the military-political leadership of the country. After the decision to resign was made, the official was offered four times various formats for further work in the team, but he refused all options, President Volodymyr Zelensky said this on August 22 during a conversation with reporters, a Suspilny correspondent reports..

Reasons for disagreement.

The head of state explained that the key reason for personnel decisions was the intervention of a civilian department in the area of \u200b\u200bresponsibility of the military command. According to Zelensky, the Ministry of Defense should be engaged in providing the army, and command and control of troops and conducting operations fall exclusively within the competence of the military.

“There cannot be a conflict at this level between leaders. If this or that operation is carried out on the battlefield, it is carried out primarily by the military. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is responsible for the provision. If someone invades another's sphere of responsibility, this will inevitably lead to conflict. And the conflict occurred - and it is very serious,” Zelensky said.

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The President noted that even at the beginning of Fedorov’s work in the defense department, they agreed on a clear division of powers. At the same time, the head of state mentioned the presentation of the concept of the so-called “Ministry of War,” which provided for the subordination of the Chief of the General Staff to the Minister of Defense. Zelensky asked to abandon this model, but subsequently the minister tried to implement it in other ways, to which Alexander Syrsky responded with counter bureaucracy.

Double dismissal.

Due to disagreements, officials stopped communicating directly and discussed work issues only during joint meetings in the office of the head of state. Two weeks before the personnel decision was made, the president invited them to meet face to face and resolve differences, but this did not happen.

During one of the meetings, Fedorov suggested “honestly dismissing both” - both him and the commander-in-chief. However, Vladimir Zelensky rejected such an idea, emphasizing the sequence of processes during the war:.

The simultaneous change of the Minister of Defense and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during active hostilities is unacceptable for the stability of the front.

Personnel decisions must be made consistently and carefully.

Refusal of new positions.

Vladimir Zelensky emphasized that he positively evaluates Fedorov’s work, in particular his significant contribution to the field of digitalization.

“I offered him four times various formats for further work in the team for the benefit of our state. I don't usually meet people four times to offer them a job.. ) Mikhail refused all four offers. Well, it’s his choice,” the president said. He also added that the former head of the Ministry of Defense “is being pushed to do the wrong things”.

Reaction to criticism.

Touching on the topic of criticism of the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky called on society not to belittle the achievements of the generals and objectively evaluate their work.

\? Khmara - devil? And then they will say “Budanov is the devil”? This is already too much,” the president said.

The head of state acknowledged the existence of claims and comments, in particular regarding the high-profile situation around the “Rock”. At the same time, he recalled the key merits of Alexander Syrsky:.

Successful defense of Kyiv at the beginning of a full-scale invasion.

Defense of Kharkov and counter-offensive operation.

Planning and implementation of the Kursk operation.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky responded to corruption cases against former representatives of the presidential office, in particular against the already former deputy head of the OP Irina Mudra, who was responsible for legal direction and development of reparation mechanisms.

Let us remind you that during all the years of Zelensky’s tenure as president, Zerkalo Nedeli was invited to an offrend only once. And it wasn't this time.