Ukraine’s army commander shares details of his arrest in Brussels in 2019

Zaluzhnyi shared the story in an interview with the Washington Post.

Russia declared Valeriy Zaluzhnyi a "war criminal" in absentia and without his knowledge. As soon as he stepped off the plane in Brussels, he was surrounded by law enforcement officers.

"With their guns pointed at him, he was instructed to lie facedown on the floor and was handcuffed. Zaluzhnyi said he had just enough roaming minutes on his phone to call Ukraine’s ambassador to NATO, who eventually helped secure his release," the Washington Post writes.

The situation inspired Valeriy Zaluzhnyi to pursue a master's degree in international relations in 2020 to have more knowledge in the field of law.

"I was in a bad mood, but then I realized that hypothetically I was a war criminal and most likely would remain one. So I decided I should study international relations and international law," said the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

• In the same interview, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi also emphasized that Ukraine would recapture the temporarily occupied Crimea as soon as it had the means.