President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he had met with Valery Zaluzhny, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and the former commander-in-chief of the armed forces, to discuss diplomatic priorities aimed at strengthening Ukraine as the war grinds on.
“I thanked him for his work as part of Ukraine’s team, and it is important that all of us together are defending Ukraine’s independence, our national interests, and our people,” Zelensky wrote on social media.
“We discussed diplomatic tasks that are relevant now and can strengthen all of us – Ukraine and our resilience,” he added, providing no more specific details.
Zaluzhny served as commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from July 2021 until February 2024, when he was dismissed amid talk of rising tensions with Zelensky.
He was replaced by Oleksandr Syrsky and subsequently appointed ambassador to the UK.
Zaluzhny has consistently presented as the public figure commanding the highest public trust ratings in Ukraine, with 73% saying that they trust him, according to poll from 2025 by the Rating Sociological Group.
He has been touted as a contender to succeed Zelensky as president but has consistently denied running a political campaign. He has also been vocal about his opposition to holding wartime elections.
A survey from December conducted by SOCIS, a private political and sociology company, found that Zelensky and Zaluzhny would advance to a second run-off round if presidential elections were held in the near future.
In an op-ed published in The Telegraph on Nov.29, amid a snowballing corruption scandal widely seen as one of the most challenging moments of Zelensky’s presidency, Yermak wrote about the need for peace to present “a chance for political change” and “deep reforms.”
At the end of December, Ukrainian media outlets reported that the ambassador was considering resigning from his post and had informed Zelensky of that decision several weeks prior.
Sources cited by media claimed that he had discussed possible future roles with the president, including prime minister and head of the Office of the President, but that Zaluzhny had shown no interest either position.
“As always, unnamed sources know everything about Zaluzhny and his plans. But nothing has changed. He continues to defend the interests of Ukraine as ambassador to the United Kingdom,” Zaluzhny’s media advisor, Oksana Torop, said at the time.
The Guardian reported in 2025 that US Vice President JD Vance had attempted to bypass Zelensky by phoning Zaluzhny after an infamous bust-up in the Oval Office in February, but that Zaluzhny had declined to take any calls from Vance in a show of unity with the president.
The outlet added that Zaluzhny had refused to formally join the president’s political team when requested by Andriy Yermak around that time, but that he had pledged not to criticize Zelensky in public while the war was still ongoing.