To the President of Ukraine V.O. Zelenskyi

Open letter

Dear Mr. President!

Our moral duty compels us to try to stop you from making a mistake that could have catastrophic consequences: dismissing the Armed Forces of Ukraine Commander-in-Chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and his team.

We see and realize a wide range of problems in the Armed Forces and the need for reforms. However, only personnel changes cannot resolve such issues, especially when the enemy is advancing, and the delay in U.S. assistance becomes critical for successful defense using many types of weapons.

Both the army and society support Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. His resignation will hurt the psychological state of the Defense Forces and society, as well as the unity of Ukrainians. We all have now to divide ourselves into those defending the country at the front and those helping defenders. The resignation of the AFU Commander-in-Chief at such a moment will not help consolidate society but will instead divide it.

We ask you to refrain from this disastrous, in our opinion, step.

Members of the “First of December” Initiative Group:

Olha Aivazovska

Oleksandra Hnatiuk

Volodymyr Yermolenko

Yevhen Zakharov

Yosyf Zisels

Myroslav Marynovych

Oleksandra Matviichuk

Ihor Yukhnovskyi

Yaroslav Yatskiv