Kyiv has already sent a formal request asking the British government to approve Zaluzhny, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Zaluzhny’s pending appointment comes after Zelenskyy removed him from his post as Ukraine’s top military commander last month. The Ukrainian president said at the time he was reshuffling his military leadership because he felt a new strategy was needed as the country’s full-scale war with Russia entered its third year. But analysts and officials close to Zelenskyy’s office and Zaluzhny said the real reason the general was fired was an ongoing conflict between the two. Zelenskyy reportedly could not control the outspoken Zaluzhny, who published several sobering pieces in foreign media about the state of the war without prior authorization from the president.
Zaluzhny was also potentially the only real competitor for Zelenskyy if he ever decided to run for the presidency, according to Ukrainian national polls. However, Volodymyr Fesenko, a Ukrainian political analyst, said it would be wrong to see this posting as a form of political exile for Zaluzhny.
“This was a good compromise for both sides. The president’s office eliminates the possibility for any political players in Ukraine to drag Zaluzhny into politics, and Zaluzhny gets a precious new diplomatic experience he was always interested in,” Fesenko told POLITICO.
Fesenko said that while the ambassadorship is a “career setback for Zaluhzny,” it’s also an opportunity to expand his professional horizons and serve his country in another manner.
According to the Ukrainian constitution, presidential elections are possible only after the end of the war. The ambassador’s post will not close prospects of a future political career to 50-year-old Zaluhzny, who has a master’s degree in international relations and speaks English, Fesenko added.
