https://arab.news/2mh2g
KYIV, Ukraine: Ukraine may be forced to adapt its military strategy due to a drop in foreign aid, army chief Valery Zaluzhny said in an article published Thursday.
Zaluzhny, who is reportedly at loggerheads with President Volodymyr Zelensky, said in an opinion piece for CNN that Ukraine’s key allies were “grappling” over future support for Kyiv.
“We must contend with a reduction in military support from key allies, grappling with their own political tensions,” said Zaluzhny, who serves as Ukraine’s commander-in-chief.
EU leaders overcame long-running opposition from Hungary to agree another aid package for Ukraine on Thursday, but support from Washington is still in doubt due to infighting in Congress.
Zaluzhny also said Ukraine would not be able to boost its army’s manpower unless lawmakers took “unpopular” measures to mobilize more men, a highly contentious issue in Ukraine.
The military has asked Zelensky to draft half a million more people to swap out long-serving exhausted soldiers and counter the 600,000 or so Russians deployed in Ukraine.
But in January, parliament refused to debate a controversial bill aimed at mobilizing more troops, amid fierce criticism from the public and lawmakers.
Rumours swirled across Ukrainian media this week that Zelensky planned to fire Zaluzhny amid disagreement over how to boost numbers in the army, which is struggling to fill its ranks.