Marchenko explained his words about supporting Zaluzhnyi for the post of president: «Regarded hypothetical ideas of a future peaceful life»

Dmytro Marchenko, Photo by ADRIEN VAUTIER / LE MONDE

Major General of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Dmytro Marchenko explained his statement of support for the idea of electing the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valerii Zaluzhnyi to the post of President of Ukraine. According to him, it was about possible ideas for the future peaceful life of the country.

He wrote about this on his Facebook on Tuesday evening, November 21.

As you know, on November 11, Dmytro Marchenko's interview with journalist Yanina Sokolova was published. There, in particular, he stated that he wants Valerii Zaluzhnyi to run for the post of President of Ukraine in the upcoming elections. When asked whether he would take the post of commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the event of Valery Zaluzhnyi's presidency, Dmytro Marchenko replied that he would rather join his team.

10 days after that, the military said that this comment was «taken out of context» and therefore there is some manipulation.

«Of course, everyone heard and saw what they wanted there, but I consider inadmissible bad gossip and manipulative assumptions that spread on the Internet. The video, which was distributed on various Internet resources, is taken out of context and does not give a general understanding of the situation. There was no preliminary preparation, agreement of questions and material, everything was written live. And I clearly refused to discuss political issues during the interview. Anyone who doubts this, I advise you to watch the entire interview in its entirety, where everything is explained and understood!» wrote Dmytro Marchenko.

Screenshot of Dmytro Marchenko's Facebook post, November 21

According to him, the journalist asked hypothetical questions about life in the country after the war.

«The journalist's question related to hypothetical ideas of the future peaceful life of Ukraine after the victory. Until the end of the war, the military is exclusively engaged in war and exclusively analyzes military events — our task is to fight the enemy,» Dmytro Marchenko wrote.

He noted that Russian propaganda used this interview to manipulate Valery Zaluzhny's political ambitions.

«The information campaign initiated by Russian propaganda is, as always, aimed exclusively at destabilizing the situation in Ukraine and creating conflicts in the midst of Ukrainian society. This is standard hybrid warfare technology. Ukrainians should not help the enemies in their attack on our unity. As a military man, I always defended and still defend not only Ukrainian statehood, but also democratic values and freedoms, including freedom of speech. Therefore, I answered the question as I think and consider it correct (this is my personal opinion), evaluating positive scenarios for the future, when our army will finally be able to rest and engage in personal affairs. Please don't manipulate my statements, don't engage in discrediting Head Committee Valery Zaluzhny! No one is running for office, does not agree with anyone on anything, and there is no need to spread rumors. We are all focused exclusively on victory!», Dmytro Marchenko wrote.

He noted that with this interview he wanted to make a call about the need to work together for victory. Dmytro Marchenko added that he will continue to «destroy the enemy» in the south of Ukraine.

«I would like society to hear from this interview what I wanted to convey — we need to work together for victory, and not engage in gossip and contempt for each other! We can win only by joint efforts! Thank you all for your understanding! I will continue to destroy the enemy in the south of our country! I really hope that we will have enough wisdom to put aside quarrels and misunderstandings and free our lands together! Glory to Ukraine,» he wrote.

It will be recalled that Major General Dmytro Marchenko previously stated in an interview with NikVesti that he is not going to build a political career and does not associate himself with any political force.

As is known, last summer Major General Dmytro Marchenko was appointed by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi to the position of organizer of interaction between the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration and the partisan movement in the south of Ukraine.