The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhny passed a military medical commission (MMC) in the winter, where he was found unfit for service in the army. In February, he wrote a report on his discharge from military service.
"The Mirror of the Week" ["Dzerkalo Tyzhnya"] writes about this with reference to its own sources.
After his dismissal from office, Zaluzhny was placed at the disposal of the Defense Minister Rustem Umerov by the decision of the president. However, they did not find a military position corresponding to the level of Zaluzhnyʼs training. The publication writes that because of this, Zaluzhny decided to resign from military service in order to have the opportunity and the right to do something else. The editors of the publication do not know whether Umyerov signed the report after the announcement of the intention to send Zaluzhny as ambassador to London.
The publication writes that the decision to release Zaluzhny is being delayed due to the fact that, after the adoption of the law with a new list of military ranks, the corresponding change in the regulatory framework, in particular in the presidential decrees, was not completed.
Therefore, legally, it is not clear who should dismiss Zaluzhny as a general from the military service. The Minister of Defense by his order or the President by his decree, as previously the generals of the Ukrainian army were dismissed.
According to the current legislation, after two months of being at the ministerʼs disposal, military servicemen are no longer paid monetary support, except for the salary according to the military rank. For General Zaluzhny, who has the highest military rank, it is 1 762 hryvnias per month.
- On February 8, 2024, Valerii Zaluzhny was dismissed from the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Oleksandr Syrskyi became the commander-in-chief instead. Before that, Volodymyr Zelensky met with Zaluzhny. They discussed updating the leadership of the Armed Forces. The president offered Zaluzhny to "continue to be in the team."
- On March 7, 2024, it became known that President Zelensky approved the candidacy of Valerii Zaluzhny for the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. A request for an agreement was sent to the British side.