Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky shakes the hand of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhny during the official celebration of Ukrainian Independence Day on August 24, 2023 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
he wartime feud between Ukraine’s most powerful men ended last week not with an earthquake but a handshake.
“They agreed not to show signs of any conflict,” a military officer close to Zaluzhny told TIME after the ceremony. “That could have led to instability, and we all understand that unsettling the country right now would only serve the interests of the enemy,” he said, asking not to be named in discussing the general’s thinking.
A similar argument played out that summer over where to launch a far more ambitious counterstrike. In coordination with his U.S. and European allies, General Zaluzhny held a series of virtual war games to analyze various lines of attack, and he settled on an ambitious plan to push southward toward Crimea, aiming to cut through Russia’s main lines of defense. The plan would require careful planning, as well as vast reserves of weaponry and manpower.