Valery Zaluzhnyi has been appointed to the post of ambassador to Great Britain

On Thursday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced important news to Ukrainians – he approved Valery Zaluzhny's candidacy for the post of ambassador to Great Britain.

"General Valery Zaluzhnyi told me about such a direction for himself - diplomatic. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has sent a corresponding request for an agreement," the president said.

For many, this news came as a big surprise, because Zelensky fired Zaluzhny from the post of head of the commissar against the background of the growing conflict between them, and the general himself had previously refused offers for positions in the government.

Hasty decision

The submission of this information itself looked somewhat strange - first the Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a notice on its website about the approval of Zaluzhnyi's candidacy, and then the president announced it.

Usually, the appointment of ambassadors is announced after all formalities have been agreed upon and when there is an agreman (agreement) from a foreign state.

In the case of Zaluzhny, the authorities have already announced the first stage of the lengthy appointment procedure - approval of the candidacy by the president. There can be several explanations for this.

First, Bankova could publicize the process in order to avoid any rumors and speculations around this topic. The person of Zaluzhnyi is too popular, so it is quite possible that information about this could have leaked even before the decree itself.

Secondly, it is quite likely that after receiving Zaluzhnyi's consent, the authorities decided to show with this announcement as soon as possible that the former head still remains in the president's team.

And finally, it could be a desire to play it safe. And suddenly, during the long bureaucratic procedure, the general will change his mind?

Good for Zelenskyi

The very information about the future appointment of Zaluzhnyi as an ambassador came as a bit of a surprise. First of all, because, according to the media, he refused similar offers even before he resigned from the post of commander-in-chief. Why he agreed now is an open question. But you can be sure of one thing - this decision is definitely a good one for Volodymyr Zelenskyi.

First, the Ukrainian authorities have finally decided on the candidacy of the ambassador to Britain, who has not been there since July 2023. In addition, a well-known person with a high level of trust will go there. Western partners respect Zaluzhnyi, and he himself has an interest in diplomacy, because he graduated from the master's degree of the Ostroh Academy with a specialty in "International Relations". And although he has no diplomatic experience, it is still a good option from the point of view of establishing close relations with the West. According to our information, the British side received this news with optimism, so there will be no problems with Agreman.

Secondly, this appointment will mean that Zaluzhnyi will not enter politics, despite his rather high ratings. Before that, the general did not comment on the topic of his political ambitions, but there were many conversations about it in both political and expert circles. His article in The Economist about the situation at the front and the reasons for the failed counteroffensive caused Zelensky's displeasure, as he believed that the general should have agreed with him in this publication. Bankova was sure that this article was the beginning of Zaluzhny's political career.

After his release, Zaluzhny completely disappeared from the public sphere, although sociologists continue to measure his ratings. The level of support did not decrease even after the resignation of the head of the post. The latest poll conducted by SOCIS on behalf of Censor.NET and published on March 5 showed that Zaluzhny leads the presidential rating. If the elections were held in 2024, Valery Zaluzhnyi would have the most support - 31.3% (41.4% among those who have decided and will go to the elections) and Volodymyr Zelensky - 21.7% (23.7%).

In the second round, 48.2% of Ukrainians would vote for the former chairman (67.5% among those who have decided and will go to the elections), 23.3% of Ukrainians (32.5%) - for the current president.

This decision is beneficial for Zelenskyi for another reason. It is no secret that there was a conflict between Zelenskyi and Zaluzhny, so already last year everyone understood that the replacement of the head of state was only a matter of time. But many certainly did not expect that Zaluzhny would agree to continue working under Zelenskyi's leadership already in the diplomatic field. This position has too many limitations. In simple words, from the moment of his appointment as ambassador, Zaluzhnyi will already be associated with the current president's team, and all his actions, statements and statements will be fully controlled by the Bank. It is known that the international direction (and not only) in the Office of the President is overseen by its head Andriy Yermak, so Valery Zaluzhnyi will fall into his sphere of influence after his appointment.

And here it is important to remind why the previous ambassador to Britain, Vadym Prystayk, who was in Zelensky's team almost from the beginning, was fired. The fact is that after the British Defense Minister Ben Wallace said at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023 that Ukraine should express more gratitude for the aid provided with weapons, Zelenskyy responded with sarcasm: "We can wake up in the morning and thank the minister personally." .

Prystayko allowed himself to speak critically of the Ukrainian president, for which he fell out of favor with Bankova. "I don't think this sarcasm is healthy sarcasm. We must not show the Russians that there is something, something between us. They should know that we work together," he said then.

Zelensky fired him within a few weeks. This situation clearly demonstrates what a response to criticism can be.

A challenge for Zaluzhny

It is difficult to say how the situation with Zaluzhny's rating will change after he goes to London. It is likely that his silence about political ambitions was perceived by many as the general's intention to enter politics. And the appointment as an ambassador in London will significantly change the entire context surrounding his person - after the conflict with the president and his dismissal from the army, he will again work under the leadership of Zelensky.

On the other hand, we cannot rule out the possibility that Zaluzhny will engage in politics after the diplomatic mission. After all, there is a war going on in Ukraine, and elections are prohibited.

"It is good for the current government that Valery Fedorovych will be busy with specific and interesting work, and not thinking about a possible political career, and will be away from various oppositionists and fans who will drag him into politics," - believes political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko.

Some of his colleagues claim that it will be "exile" for Zaluzhnyi. Tetyana Mokridi, a publicist and wife of politician Roman Bezsmertny, who was the ambassador of Ukraine to Belarus, wrote on her social networks: "Sometimes the appointment of an ambassador is exile. I know this for sure."

But Fesenko does not agree with this. "If he was appointed ambassador to Ethiopia or Ecuador, maybe so. And they plan to appoint him to London. For those who have forgotten or do not know, I will remind you that this is one of the world capitals, particularly in the field of international politics. I think that many Ukrainian politicians would dream of such an "exile", he says.

In this whole story, another old Ukrainian story is exposed - when ambassadors are appointed by those who were previously dismissed from a high position. Let us recall the former Minister of Defense Andrii Taran - currently the ambassador to Slovenia, the former Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova - currently the ambassador to Switzerland, the former head of "Ukroboronprom" Yury Gusev - currently the ambassador to Azerbaijan. In this way, a person remains both in office and in the orbit of the Ukrainian government. The staunch critic of Zaluzhny, deputy Maryana Bezugla, of course, did not remain silent and wrote on her Facebook: "Ambassador is already a good tradition for us. Good luck!".

Valery Zaluzhnyi did not comment on his future appointment as ambassador to Great Britain.