Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief responds to adviser’s controversial remarks: I no longer have any voluntary assistants
Pravda Ukraine
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has responded to controversial remarks made by freelance assistant Alla Martyniuk, announcing that as of 28 December he has no volunteer advisers.
Source: Zaluzhnyi on Telegram; Alla Martyniuk on Telegram
Details: Alla Martyniuk, a self-styled volunteer assistant adviser to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, commented on the issuance of call-up notices on the YouTube channel ISLND TV on 28 December.
Quote from Martyniuk: “Every now and then I see that people have been served a call-up notice, and their mothers immediately post it and immediately get hysterical, about to say farewell to their sons. This is wrong – there’s no need for this hysteria. You should believe that your son is a hero, he is the pride of the nation. We will all die anyway, none of us go on forever, but even if that does happen, leaving this life with dignity is far better than walking down the street and a brick falling on you or a car running you over. Things happen.”
Details: Following the public outcry that was sparked on social media, Martyniuk recorded a video on 29 December saying that these words had been cut from an interview and misinterpreted.
Quote: “I never encouraged parents to send their children to their deaths… I meant that you shouldn’t think about bad things. Everything will be fine.”
Details: Zaluzhnyi noted that anything his assistants say is solely their own opinion.
Quote from Zaluzhnyi: “To avoid any manipulation in the media, I would like to note that freelance assistants did not have the authority to publicly comment on any issues on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and anything they said is solely their own opinion.
I also wish to inform you that as of 28 December 2023, I have no volunteer assistant advisers.”
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