"Our victory will not be final": Zaluzhny predicts further confrontation with Russia in interview with Time

Zaluzhny said this in an interview with Time.

"Judging by what I personally know about the Russians, our victory will not be the final. Our victory will be an opportunity to rest and prepare for the next war," said Zaluzhny.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces also assured of his readiness to fight to the end.

"We will fight to the last drop of blood," said Zaluzhny.

The general also talked about preparations for a full-scale war and misleading Russian enemy.

"There's no mistaking the smell of war, and it was already in the air. ... I was afraid we'd lose the element of surprise. We needed the enemy to think we were all deployed at our usual bases, smoking weed, watching  TV and post on Facebook," said Zaluzhny.

According to the commander-in-chief, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, Ukraine had two strategic tasks.

"We could not allow Kyiv to fall. And on all other vectors we had to spill their blood, even if in some places it required the loss of territory," said Zaluzhny.

The general said that he saw the effectiveness of the chosen strategy when the Russians failed to take the airports around Kyiv, but advanced deep enough to strain and expose their supply lines.

Zaluzhny also said that he was surprised when his American colleague Mark Milley asked him about his intentions to evacuate.

"I told him: "I don't understand you.  For me, the war started in 2014... I didn't run away then, and I'm not going to run away now," said Zaluzhny.

Also, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces admitted that he was surprised by the mistakes of the Russians, who, having encountered resistance, did not look for other approaches.

"They just threw their soldiers to the slaughter. They chose the scenario that suited me best," said Zaluzhny.