by Kateryna Denisova and Francis Farrell

October 17, 2024

General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.K. addresses delegates during the first day of the Labour Party conference on September 22, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K., said it is almost impossible to escape the state of “protracted” war with Russia in a speech at the Chatham House on Oct. 17, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter.

Zaluzhnyi reiterated that back in 2023, the West did not provide Kyiv with a sufficient number of weapons, which is why Ukraine failed to achieve “significant success in defeating Russia”  during the counteroffensive.

“Consequentially, we ended up in a state of protracted war. In my personal opinion, a way out of this protracted war seems… almost impossible,” he said.

In November 2023, The Economist magazine published an interview with Zaluzhnyi and an op-ed by the general, in which he characterized the state of the war as a “stalemate.”

The comment contrasted the outlook usually offered by President Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration in public comments and reportedly triggered a discord between the two. 

Zaluzhnyi warned that Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine was moving to a “positional” stage. This new stage is characterized by “static and attritional fighting” that will allow Russia to restore its military power.

Throughout 2024, Ukraine has faced a challenging situation in defending the front line, particularly in Donetsk Oblast, where Russia has consistently concentrated its offensive potential. 

Following Ukraine’s withdrawal from Vuhledar in early October, Russian forces have been focusing their efforts against the Donetsk Oblast towns of Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Kurakhove, where outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian soldiers are slowly losing ground under Russian pressure.

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Comment from :

Richard

“Je suis Charlie,” “I am Ukrainian”·

And all that without a modern Air Force properly equipped with up-to-date technology. . .

From the beginning of the full scale phase Ukraine needed and still needs the capability to counter organized Russian attacks, not just rely on incompetent Russian tactics.

If Ukraine cannot be equipped to do this then NATO defense was always hopeless – obviously not the case. . .

Adrian

Concerned Citizen·

The UK Ambassador is a realist and tells it as it is. His comments on the information and cognitive space and its impact on culture are prophetic. He’s right that it takes time and an entire new generation of Ukrainians to fully jettison the old toxic Soviet mentality, which has brainwashed many older generation Ukrainians, especially in the East of Ukraine where Russian influence was greatest. The idea that you can simply reeducate these lost souls with facts and figures is Polly Anna wishful thinking. Essentially the Ambassador is asking that we be patient and understanding as Ukraine digs itself out of centuries of monarchist, colonial and Soviet rule with its toxic legacy engrained in its collective psyche. He candidly acknowledges that they will make mistakes along the way but are heading in the right direction at last. Ironically the Kremlin is systematically destroying the very cities, villages and people where their influence was strongest. This only accelerates the kind of cognitive change that the Ambassador eludes to when he references a new generation of Ukrainians who will want to defend their land, families and freedom to choose. One day the Ambassador may have the chance to sail the ship himself whenever Ukraine is in a position to hold valid elections, in the meantime we would do well to pay attention to what he has to say.

Finn Bjerrehave

Ynkeligt en ambassadør uden ambitioner. Hvis Ukraine dagligt kan dræbe ca 1200 Russiske soldater 12 kampvogne 44 artilleripjecer samt bombe depoter med brændstof og ammunition samt våben, skal vesten bare stoppe med kulbrintekøb, og Putins endeligt kommer af sig selv.

Reply from :

Joseph Gregor

You’re absolutely right about that, Finn Bjerrehave. I translate the above comment of yours into English: “Pathetic an ambassador without ambition. If Ukraine can kill about 1200 Russian soldiers daily, 12 tanks, 44 artillery projectiles and bomb depots with fuel and ammunition and weapons, the West should just stop buying hydrocarbons and Putin’s end will come by itself.”