Ukrainians invent way to fight, win against stronger armies in 21st century - Zaluzhnyi

Ukraine's Ambassador to the United Kingdom, former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi emphasized this in a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

Zaluzhnyi noted that during the war between Russia and Ukraine, Ukrainians realized that enduring the initial strike and responding effectively was only the beginning of a more complex phase of the conflict. This phase involves finding a unique path to victory. It is this search that has led Ukraine to understand the contours of revolutionary changes, particularly in military affairs.

"Oddly enough, but quite logically, it is likely that these changes, which were invented on the battlefields of the Russian-Ukrainian war, will determine the outlines of wars and the art of war in the 21st century. And most importantly, they will become the foundation of the entire global security system of the future," emphasized Zaluzhnyi.

He is convinced that the concept of new war strategies must now encompass a broader understanding, including technologies.

The former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief noted that the war that began in Ukraine in 2014 is entirely different from the one that started on February 24, 2022. The latter quickly exhausted Ukrainian forces by May 2022. The intensity of the fighting forced the Ukrainian Defense Forces to restore their strength to the levels of early 2022. The need to survive on the battlefield led Ukrainians into yet another phase of the war by summer 2023.

Analyzing these events, Zaluzhnyi pointed out that both sides paused their search for new weapons, though it would have been more appropriate to find new ways to utilize the latest technologies.

"It is the invention of new methods of use that would logically lead to changes in the structure of units, detachments and the Armed Forces as a whole. It is this motion that is scientific and reasonable," Zaluzhnyi believes.

He stressed that today, technological development influences how these technologies are used, and new usage forms affect the structure of fighting armies. The former Commander-in-Chief is confident this trend is inevitable and will continue.

"Technologies – as a set of not only innovative solutions, but also a set of measures for the development, scientific support, training, development of doctrines that will change the situation on the battlefield in the conditions of the enemy's existing advantages in military potential and resources. Simply put, today we have already invented a way to fight and win against stronger armies in the 21st century. Obviously, it is the technology that should ensure the sustainability of the Ukrainian nation," he added.

Speaking about the current Russian-Ukrainian war, Zaluzhnyi remarked that it is not yet a war of the future but rather a transitional conflict that shapes new rules.

"We Ukrainians, with our blood and thirst for victory,are forming new patterns of a new war. A war that will be the war of the future," said Zaluzhnyi.

The former Commander-in-Chief believes that a new stage in the forms and methods of warfare has effectively begun.

"We see how scientific and technological progress has set in motion the wheel of history and brought to the battlefield the technologies that are likely to be decisive in this war and, most importantly, will become the basis of global security of the future. Who will quickly master these technologies – the democratic world or the world of tyranny – will depend on us," he noted.

Zaluzhnyi added that considering resources as technologies, neither Ukraine nor Russia will be able to master them alone in the near future for various reasons. Thus, the only solution in the war might be increasing the number of human resources involved in combat. However, technologies "will await the brave and capable to master them." Whoever masters them will resolve global security issues.

"Today, more than ever, it is in Ukraine that they find ways to survive and create technologies. But for obvious reasons, they cannot scale up. On the other hand, our partners have resources, but there is no applied and practical field to test them. Only together we will be able to effectively use the resource, because time no longer works for us," emphasized Zaluzhnyi.

• In his speech, Valerii Zaluzhnyi also emphasized that free and democratic nations and their governments must wake up and think about how to protect their citizens and their countries. And Ukraine is ready to share its experience.