NATO and the United States have no influence on personnel changes in the Armed Forces of Ukraine - joint statement

NATO and the United States have no influence on personnel changes in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Any personnel changes in the Ukrainian army, including at the level of their operational leadership, are a sovereign matter for Ukraine.

This statement was made by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. They spoke about this on Wednesday in Brussels during a joint press conference following a meeting of the National Security Advisors of the Alliance.

"Ukrainians must speak for themselves. The question of the future of any military personnel is a sovereign decision made by a sovereign country. Obviously, the elected leader has to make his choice who will lead the operational military leadership. All I can say is that from the United States' perspective, we intend to continue to support the Ukrainian authorities and the Ukrainian military in their efforts. But personnel decisions are a matter for the Ukrainians. We can't make those decisions from Washington or from here in Brussels," Sullivan said.

For his part, Stoltenberg said that personnel changes in the Ukrainian army are a purely Ukrainian decision, and NATO cannot have a separate point of view on this.

"This is a Ukrainian decision, and NATO cannot have any point of view on this. But I welcome the very clear statement by Foreign Minister Kuleba, who said that any changes will not harm Ukraine's relations with its partners and with NATO. So we will continue our support, and that is what matters," the NATO Secretary General emphasized.

Earlier it was reported that the President of Ukraine for the first time personally commented on the possibility of Zaluzhny's dismissal. He explained that he is "thinking about this replacement," but it concerns "the entire management team that drives the country's car."

At the same time, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that the United States would not interfere with the decision of the Ukrainian authorities to dismiss the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. They believe that this is the sovereign right of our country and the president.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, according to media reports, on February 2, the Ukrainian government informed the White House that Zelensky had decided to dismiss Zaluzhny. This will be the most serious personnel reshuffle during a full-scale war in Ukraine.

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