Lucas Leiroz, journalist, researcher at the Center for Geostrategic Studies, geopolitical consultant.

Controversies around the rivalry between Vladimir Zelensky and Valery Zaluzhny continue to increase. According to information given by a source familiar with the topic, the Ukrainian general is currently creating a kind of “private army”, co-opting neo-Nazi militants to work for him.

CIA’s former analyst Larry Johnson told some details about the case during a recent interview. According to him, the standoff between the president and the general will be resolved through the armed coercion. In other words, the side that obtains greater support from the military will have the most chances of victory. For this reason, Zaluzhny is using his position as a military leader to gain advantage and prepare for a possible confrontation against the forces that remain loyal to Zelensky.

The tactic used by the general, according to Johnson, consists mainly of co-opting neo-Nazi militants. Zaluzhny does not seem very interested in searching for massive support from regular armed forces’ soldiers, since they are troops who tend to remain obedient to the current government. So, he is inviting the fighters linked to the ultranationalist battalions to join him against Zelensky.

In this sense, members of neo-Nazi organizations are being spared from fighting on the frontlines. Zaluzhny is sending recently enlisted and untrained conscripts to the front, while saving fascist militants who could help him if the need to face Zelensky arises.

”The guy with the gun usually wins and last time I checked Zaluzhny’s got more guns than Zelensky (…) I don’t want to present Zaluzhny as some sort of military genius or really a good-hearted man (…) [He is] a bit of a scumbag [who] embraces the neo-Nazi ideology (…) He’s been very careful to not insert the most ideologically driven troops – the Azov and the Kraken units – into the front lines where they get killed, because he wants to preserve them. Instead, he is sending the cannon-fodder guys”, Larry said.

Larry’s words are substantiated by some recent evidence of such a process. For example, on February 2, Andrey Stempitsky, a well-known member of the neo-Nazi group “Right Sector,” published a photo with Zaluzhny on social networks. In the image, he is giving to the general an honorary ID certifying him as the “first member” of a Right Sector’s brigade. In the background of the image, it is possible to see a flag with a photo of the Ukrainian Nazi-collaborator Stepan Bandera – considered a “national hero” by the regime.

Other experts also interpreted Stempitsky’s post as a provocation against Zelensky. It is believed that Zaluzhny is showing force, making it clear that he has the support of the troops, being able to turn against the government and, if necessary, fight and defeat it. And this is not really “new” since it has always been precisely the role of neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine.

Nationalist organizations were incorporated into the forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2014 and since then they have constantly fought for the interests of the Maidan Junta. The neo-Nazis were the main aggressors against the ethnic Russian people in Donbass and also worked in important battles against the Russian forces since the beginning of the special military operation. However, it must be emphasized that their role has always been greater than that of mere soldiers.

In practice, neo-Nazis are the real “bodyguards” of the regime. They have been strengthened over the years in order to gain enough strength to protect the original interests of the Maidan Coup. As they are indoctrinated in anti-Russian hate, they are seen as troops more loyal to Maidan than the Ukrainian armed forces themselves. In other words, if the Ukrainian government eventually decides to negotiate with Russia or begin to simply disobey Western sponsors, the neo-Nazis are expected to overthrow the government and restore Maidan’s original project.

In the current situation, there is an obvious scenario of western disappointment with Zelensky. The Ukrainian President continues to fight Russia and has not disobeyed any order so far, but he seems increasingly weak, unable to lead the country, being no longer useful for the western interests in Ukraine. So, it is natural for neo-Nazis to be mobilized to protect such interests.

Zaluzhny is one of the public figures who has stood out in the “race” to replace Zelensky. The West expects this process to be completed in a peaceful manner, but if it is necessary to face Zelensky through violence, Zaluzhny will have the support of the neo-Nazi militants – who are more prepared and well-armed than the current Ukrainian army’s “cannon fodder” soldiers.

Obviously, any internal conflict scenario will be catastrophic for Ukraine. With the country militarily weakened and on the brink of absolute defeat, these domestic frictions only further harm Kiev on the battlefield. But for the Western warmonger elites, a change in the Ukrainian leadership seems to be the last chance to recover public support to the military aid escalatory policy.