Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is weighing up the dismissal of Ukraine’s top military officer – marking his first confirmation that he is thinking about replacing the widely popular figure.

Asked whether he was considering the ousting of General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Mr Zelenskyy told Italian RAI TV that he was thinking about it.

He said “a reset, a new beginning is necessary” and it is “not about a single person but about the direction of the country’s leadership”.

“I’m thinking about this replacement, but you can’t say here we replaced a single person,” Mr Zelenskyy said. 

“When we talk about this, I mean a replacement of a series of state leaders, not just in a single sector like the military.

“If we want to win we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory, we cannot be discouraged, let our arms fall, we must have the right positive energy.”

For context: Tensions between the president and Gen Zaluzhnyi have been rising as the country grapples with dire ammunition and personnel shortages.

The need for a broad mobilisation to fill the ranks has reportedly been one of the areas of disagreement.

Mr Zelenskyy said at the end of last year that he had turned down the military’s request to mobilise up to 500,000 people, demanding more details about how it would be organised and paid for.

Reports of a rift between the general and Mr Zelenskyy first arose last year when the general acknowledged in an interview that the fighting with Russia had reached a stalemate.