Explaining complex things in simple words: Renewing military leadership, U.S. Senate vote, prisoner exchange, Putin's interview

RENEWING MILITARY LEADERSHIP

On February 8, by the decree of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Oleksandr Syrskyi replaced Valerii Zaluzhnyi as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

▪ Valerii Zaluzhnyi is a military legend of modern Ukraine. Under his leadership, the Armed Forces passed the most difficult tests during the full-scale invasion of the enemy, achieved brilliant results.

▪ It is time to renew the Armed Forces of Ukraine, find new approaches and strategies to win the long war. Together with the change of the commander-in-chief, the entire security and defense sector team gets rebooted.

▪ Oleksandr Syrskyi is an experienced combat general, who led the Armed Forces of Ukraine to real victories on the battlefield: near Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson.

▪ The President of Ukraine invited Valerii Zaluzhnyi to remain in the team and continue to work together to win.

▪ The main goal of the changes: to overcome stagnation at the front, to provide a realistic plan for 2024, considering the real situation on the battlefield now and in perspective. 

U.S. SENATE VOTE

On February 8, the upper house of the U.S. Congress held an effective procedural vote on a bill to provide additional assistance to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan

▪ The issue of allocating USD 60.1 bln to Ukraine, pending since last December, was finally set in motion.

▪ This is an achievement that proves the determination of the United States to protect common values. This is an important step in strengthening our common struggle for peace and freedom.

▪ The bill awaits the vote in the Senate, as well as submission to the House of Representatives.

▪ We hope that American democracy will be able to finally reach an agreement on the need for further support for Ukraine.

▪ U.S. assistance is extremely important to ensure Ukraine's resilience and achieve victory over the aggressor. 

PRISONER EXCHANGE

On February 8, Ukraine held the 51st exchange of prisoners of war; 100 people returned from Russian captivity. Among the rescued servicemen are 49 soldiers of the National Guard of Ukraine, 25 border guards, 26 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including 11 territorial defenders.

▪ The release of prisoners is one of the main priorities of Ukraine during the war. We are fighting for the life and freedom of every soldier, every citizen.

▪ The exchange process has intensified. This is the third exchange since the beginning of 2023, which is a good trend.

▪ Ukraine is grateful to the United Arab Emirates for the help and assistance in organizing this exchange.

▪ Ukraine will also bring back defenders illegally convicted by the Russians. Propaganda trials will not be an obstacle for us.

▪ We demand to find out the fate of prisoners of war, whom Moscow unprovenly declared dead on board the Il-76 aircraft. 

PUTIN'S INTERVIEW

On February 9, Putin's interview with scandalous journalist Tucker Carlson, widely promoted by Russian propaganda, was published.

▪ Tucker Carlson is a journalist who discredited himself in the United States by spreading outright fakes, fuelling conspiracy sentiments and Ukrainophobic propaganda.

▪ The significance that Russian propaganda attached to Carlson's personal interviewing of Putin attests to Russia's deep provincialism and secondary role vis-à-vis the United States.

▪ Carlson's interview with Putin is not an objective or even alternative journalism, but ordinary paid journalism, a propaganda campaign.

▪ Despite the loud announcements, the interview turned out to be boring and uninformative. Putin was simply repeating learned mantras about history and politics.

▪ The most eloquent part of the interview was not Putin's words, but Carlson's intense facial expressions.

Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security