Zelenskiy intends to fire some of his military leadership over slow pace of counteroffensive - Time

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy intends to reshuffle the country's leadership in the winter, Time magazine reports, citing sources close to Zelenskyy.

According to the publication, at least one minister and one high-ranking general will be dismissed due to the slow pace of the counteroffensive.

According to Time's sources, Ukraine's military strategy will change dramatically before the onset of winter. "Shake-ups" in Zelenskyy's team will be part of these changes.

There are concerns in Zelenskyy's office about possible winter blackouts caused by the Russian army. This may cause discontent among Ukrainians, who may hold the government accountable for insufficient preparation.

According to Time, Zelenskyy was unhappy with his trip to the United States. In a conversation with journalists, he admitted that he felt exhausted both because of the military operations and the need to convince allies of the need for help.

One source claims that the president feels as if his allies have betrayed him. Zelenskyy has expressed frustration with allies who have betrayed him, who have only provided the means to survive, not to win the war.

Despite signs of fatigue from the West, Zelenskyy plans to continue the war with Russia. There are no hints of so-called peace talks with Russia in his team.

"For me, freezing the war means losing it," he says.

The source notes that commanders on the front line began to refuse to carry out orders to attack, preferring to hold the line. At some point in early October, according to one military officer, the political leadership in Kyiv demanded an operation to "retake" the city of Horlivka, a strategic outpost in eastern Ukraine that the Russians had held and fiercely defended for nearly a decade.

The answer came back in the form of a question: With what?

"They have neither men nor weapons," the officer said. – "Where are the weapons? Where is the artillery? Where are the recruits?"

In some branches of the military, the shortage of personnel has become even worse than the shortage of weapons and ammunition, the newspaper writes. One of Zelenskiy's close aides said that even if the US and its allies provide all the weapons they promised, "we won't have the people to use them."

Background. According to Time, despite the corruption scandal with Rostyslav Shurma, Zelenskyy took him with him to Washington, D.C. The magazine sees this as one of the reasons for the cool attitude during the Ukrainian president's second visit to the United States.