Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) General Valery Zaluzhny expressed his support for President Volodymyr Zelensky's Victory Plan despite the tension between the two over the general's dismissal, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
"Ukraine must clearly follow the plan", Zaluzhny said in his first public appearance since being appointed ambassador to Britain. In front of the audience at the London think tank "Chatham House" he added: "However, this list of steps mainly concerns those countries that should ultimately be interested in ending the war."
The plan sets out Ukraine's views on how to strengthen its positions before possible negotiations with Russia to end the conflict. After introducing them to representatives of the US and other Western governments, Zelensky publicly announced key highlights of the plan in a speech to the Ukrainian parliament yesterday.
The plan envisages Ukraine being formally invited to join NATO and receiving permission to use the Western weapons it has been given with greater range on targets deep inside Russian territory - steps that have so far been met with reluctance by Kiev's allies.
In Zaluzhny's opinion, Ukraine's membership in the alliance is the only real guarantee it could receive for its security, and in this sense it appears to be without alternative, which is why the general fully supports Zelensky's proposal for NATO to extend an invitation to Kiev. However, the countries of the pact are not united on the issue and for now Ukraine's membership remains with an unclear perspective; the main consideration against it, expressed by some members of the alliance, is not to risk aggravating tensions and a direct clash with Russia.
"Declaring a new freeze on the situation in Ukraine will not work", said the former head of Ukrainian forces. "We want to have security guarantees for us and for our children." Zaluzhny, who commanded the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the failed counteroffensive last summer, said that insufficient Western support during that period led to Ukraine missing the opportunity to repel Russian forces on its own.
In his words, this missed opportunity has turned the war into a protracted conflict, the outcome of which "seems doubtful and even almost impossible". The general added that all this has allowed Moscow to conclude an alliance with North Korea, Iran and China, which Ukraine cannot defeat without the help of Western partners. "Not only Russia, but also a fairly powerful coalition of strong states is now facing Ukraine," he said. In Zaluzhny's opinion, such an "union of authoritarian states" could threaten the security of the democratic world, so the West should have drawn up a plan to protect its democratic institutions.
Presenting his plan in Brussels today, Zelensky pointed out that Kiev has intelligence that 10,000 North Korean soldiers are being prepared to be included on the side of Russian forces in the fighting against his country, and warned that the entry of a third party into the conflict would turn it into a "world war". The Ukrainian leader did not elaborate on his claim.
As the war gradually enters its third year, the mood in Ukraine is gloomy; its troops are outnumbered in manpower and are having difficulty holding back Russian advances, especially in the east, the Associated Press notes. Although characterized by an extremely slow pace, Russia's creeping advance creates a sense in Kiev of the need for more extensive Western support.
The former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stressed that Ukraine is at war with Russia, which has much greater resources, including manpower. "The only thing that works in war is mathematics," he said.
Zaluzny acknowledged the challenges his country faces in mobilization and stressed that in this direction, reform of the system inherited by Ukraine from Soviet times is needed. Despite the general's popularity, many criticized him for failing to replenish the army with the additional troops it needed.
Conscription has become a sensitive issue amid a growing shortage of infantry, and this is one of the factors that allowed Russia to seize the initiative on the battlefield, the Associated Press notes. "We had to change (the system)", he said, but added that Ukraine will not have time to reform in the face of ongoing fighting, as it takes time. "The material side does not depend entirely on us, but in terms of working with human resources, everything depends entirely on Ukraine."
Tensions between Zaluzhny and President Zelensky have risen since last year's Ukrainian counteroffensive, which failed to achieve any noticeable territorial gains. In February, Zelensky dismissed Zaluzhny as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a move aimed at finding a solution to the stalemate in the war. Zaluzhny is highly respected among the Ukrainian military and has the halo of a national hero. He is credited with stopping a full-scale Russian invasion in the early days of the war and skillfully pushing back Russian forces, according to the Associated Press.