‘Iron General’ wishes for a brighter future but warns strong security guarantees are vital to make it possible

Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi at a service in February at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Credit: Eddie Mulholland for The Telegraph

Jamie Johnson Deputy Foreign Editor

29 November 2025 8:00pm GMT

Ukraine has a chance to embrace political change after a peace deal is signed, Kyiv’s ambassador to the UK has said.

Gen Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who until last year was commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces and is widely tipped as a future president, says Ukraine should rid itself of corruption and implement deep reforms so that it may prosper after the war is over.

Writing for The Telegraph, the ambassador said that “peace provides a chance for political change,” as he advocated for “full recovery, economic growth, and the return of citizens”.

The general’s wishes for a brighter future come just two days after Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff and closest confidant resigned amid a corruption probe that has left the government in crisis and the president vulnerable.

Andriy Yermak, who denies wrongdoing, said that he would now go to the front line to fight.

Mr Zelensky has already lost two ministers and imposed sanctions on close associates after anti-corruption bodies revealed that £76m had been embezzled from the state-run nuclear energy company Energoatom.

A Ukrainian delegation led by Rustem Umerov, the leader of Ukraine’s state security and defence council, landed in the US for talks on Saturday night, and Mr Zelensky will head to Paris to meet Emmanuel Macron on Monday, as Ukraine pushes for a peace deal.

Gen Zaluzhnyi, who was Ukraine’s top general between 2021 and 2024, warned on Saturday against a quick agreement that would lead to a loss of independence.

He also offered other options for security guarantees, saying that Ukraine should join Nato – and even host its allies’ nuclear weapons – in order to prevent further Russian attacks.

“We Ukrainians strive for complete victory, but cannot reject the option of a long-term end to the war,” he wrote.

“Peace, even in anticipation of the next war, provides a chance for political change, for deep reforms, for full recovery, economic growth, and the return of citizens.

“It is even possible to speak about the beginning of the formation of a safe, protected state through innovation and technology. Strengthening the foundations of justice through the fight against corruption and the creation of an honest court system.

“But all this is impossible without effective security guarantees.

“Such security guarantees could include: Ukraine’s accession to Nato, the deployment of nuclear weapons on Ukrainian territory, or the deployment of a large military contingent capable of confronting Russia.”

Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Ukraine must not join Nato, and would not sign a peace plan which includes this concession. But Europe and the US agree that there must be an Article 5-style guarantee to stop Russia from launching another invasion.

While Mr Zelensky is the face of Ukraine’s heroism abroad, at home it is Gen Zaluzhnyi. His thick-set bulldog features adorn T-shirts, keyrings, and memes, and already he has four streets and a village named after him.

Known as the “Iron General”, he had arguably his finest hour during the siege of Kyiv, when his men repelled Russia’s attack on Ukraine’s capital in the first few days of the war.

As a moderniser who has championed the lower ranks, Gen Zaluzhnyi garnered huge popularity among the ordinary soldiers under his command. He regularly attends military funerals and was photographed officiating at the wedding of a serviceman during a lull in fighting.

Most of Ukraine’s combatants signed up to serve under Gen Zaluzhnyi to preserve their country’s democracy.

In Kyiv, far away from the front lines, any peace deal is likely to compel the Ukrainian president to hold an election, which will effectively be a national referendum on the peace deal.

In September, Mr Zelensky suggested that he would not run again. “If we finish [the] war with [the] Russians, I’m ready not to go for the second term because it’s not my goal – elections,” he said in an interview with Axios.

“I wanted very much in a very difficult period of time to be with my country, help my country. My goal is to finish the war.”

In any case, studies show that support for the president is waning. A recent study, undertaken by polling firm Socis on Nov 21, found that Mr Zelensky’s party would lose out to a potential political bloc that could be formed by Gen Zaluzhnyi.