Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech Friday that he demoted two of his generals for being “traitors.”
During the speech, Zelenskyy said he “does not have time to deal with all the traitors” and will “gradually” punish all of them.
“That is why the ex-chief of the Main Department of Internal Security of the Security Service of Ukraine Naumov Andriy Olehovych and the former head of the Office of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Kherson region Kryvoruchko Serhiy Oleksandrovych are no longer generals,” Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian president continued by quoting Article 48 of the Disciplinary Statute of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which says that senior officers shall be stripped of their rank if they violate the military oath of allegiance to the country.
“Those servicemen among senior officers who have not decided where their homeland is, who violate the military oath of allegiance to the Ukrainian people as regards the protection of our state, its freedom and independence, will inevitably be deprived of senior military ranks,” he said. “Random generals don’t belong here!”
Later in the speech, Zelenskyy acknowledged the “real heroes” in the Ukraine Security Service, saying that “absolute gratitude” is given to “each and everyone who sincerely defends” Ukraine.
“There are really a lot of heroes among the servicemen,” he said. “We are grateful to them!”
Zelenskyy also used the speech to describe the “extremely difficult” situation in the Donbas region and said that Russian troops are “accumulating the potential for strikes.” (RELATED: Russia-Ukraine War Gets Sign Of Potential Peace Agreement, US Is Skeptical)
His final words regarding the future of Ukraine asked “how [Ukrainians] will live.”
“This is a war for our future,” Zelenskyy said. “This is a war for our lives, in which we have only one way – to gain peace for Ukraine. To gain Ukraine’s security.”