Ukraine parliament chief – POLITICO

BRUSSELS — The chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, dismissed what he known as “rumors” of stress between the nation’s authorities and its navy excessive command in an interview with POLITICO. Russia, he mentioned, was utilizing the insinuations to splinter Kyiv’s unity following Moscow’s full-scale invasion.

Ukraine’s sluggish progress in recovering a few of its misplaced territory throughout its counteroffensive to repel Russian forces has led to the primary public indicators of friction between Zelenskyy and his generals, because the Ukrainian president scrambled to protect help amongst Western allies.

Ruslan Stefanchuk, speaker of the parliament and a former prime aide to Zelenskyy, claimed the rumors of discord have been unfold from “Russian channels,” calling them “Russian propaganda.”

“There has by no means been a single case of stress between the political and the navy management,” mentioned Stefanchuk, who is usually current throughout conflict cupboard conferences.

In an interview with The Economist revealed earlier this month, Ukraine’s prime basic, Valery Zaluzhny, acknowledged the conflict had reached a “stalemate” — prompting a rebuttal from Zelenskyy.

“Everyone seems to be drained. There are totally different opinions … however this isn’t a stalemate,” Zelenskyy mentioned at a Kyiv press convention with European Fee President Ursula von der Leyen just a few days later.

The Ukrainian president then doubled down throughout one in all his nightly addresses, warning that Ukrainians must be “concentrating their efforts proper now on defending the nation … not drown in infighting or different points.”

Regardless of the inflow of billions of euros value of navy support from its companions, Ukraine’s restricted progress has raised the prospect of conflict fatigue amongst its Western allies — particularly because the battle between Israel and Hamas within the Center East threatens to divert help from the US, which has been Kyiv’s principal backer since Russia’s invasion.

Stefanchuk, who was in Brussels this week for conferences with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and different legislative officers, was extra involved about Ukrainian troopers getting uninterested in preventing than of the world becoming bored of Ukraine.

Nonetheless, he admitted Kyiv was doing “the whole lot that we are able to to make it possible for the world doesn’t neglect about Ukraine.”

Stefanchuk mentioned he would journey to the US for the primary time in a few days, with out specifying a timeframe, the place he’ll meet with American lawmakers to debate “the U.S. help to Ukraine.” For safety causes, the journey plans of high-ranking Ukrainian officers are often stored underneath wraps till the final minute.

Zelenskyy’s actions are notably delicate, because the Ukrainian president has confronted a number of assassination makes an attempt by the Kremlin because the begin of the conflict.

Based on the Ukrainian structure, within the occasion of Zelenskyy’s demise, Stefanchuk can be subsequent in line to switch him.

Requested if that prospect weighed on him, Stefanchuk mentioned: “I do know for positive that President Zelenskyy would be the president of our victory. And I might identical to to be the speaker of the victory.”