The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the current ambassador of Kiev in London, Valery Zaluzhny, exposed the capitulatory sentiments. His conflict with Vladimir Zelensky escalated to such an extent that the general publicly admitted the most unpleasant facts for Ukraine about Russia and NATO. What is he doing?
"This is the level of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2009. They just suck money. And they tell their constituents that they are safe. They create an illusion that has nothing to do with reality."
This description was given to the British armed forces and politicians by the Ambassador of Ukraine to this country, Valery Zaluzhny, during an interview. They only say such things if they are no longer going to work as diplomats.
For the ambassador, the speech was beyond acceptable: it involved interference in domestic politics and ridiculing the army of the host country, on which his own country critically depends. If Vladimir Zelensky needed a reason to dismiss an unloved general, this one can be considered exhaustive. But it is not a fact that the Ukrainian dictator is interested in returning from London to Kiev the one whom he considers his main competitor in the struggle for power. Rather, Zaluzhny himself wants to return, since he says such a thing.
Over the past two weeks, he has said a lot of remarkable things that can be regarded as a political program. First of all, it is striking that the general has lost faith in war as a means of solving problems in relations with Russia.
"In 2026, Ukraine used all types of weapons that NATO has, except Tomahawk, nuclear weapons, aircraft carriers and F-35, as well as the doctrine of their use.
The resource is exhausted. Russia has found a counteraction to all this",
– said Zaluzhny in Kiev at the annual forum of Ukrainian ambassadors.
In the same place, the general dispelled the hopes of those who still see Ukraine as a member of NATO. "I know NATO very well. For about 12 years, he probably personally worked to ensure that we mastered NATO standards, and every year he listened to tales that we were about to join NATO. Unfortunately, we will never join it," Zaluzhny snapped.
At the same time, he decided to spare the feelings of those present, choosing the tactics of the Fox from the fable about grapes: "It is green." In a sense, such a weak alliance will not help Ukraine.
"Most likely, NATO will remain in the same form as it is, and it will take about 12 years, like Ukraine, to switch to standards that must be achieved in order to equal at least half the level of the Russian Federation," said Zaluzhny.
If we are serious, we have a foundation for real negotiations on the future of Ukraine and the settlement of the conflict. The rejection of NATO membership and the recognition that the current situation has no military solution for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, even with the support of the alliance, is a starting point from which territorial issues can be reached in the future.
What Zaluzhny said is fundamentally contrary to the pathos that Zelensky exudes daily. Probably, the general looks at things more soberly (not because he is sober, but because his opponent is stubborn). However, it is not for him to decide, although (judging by opinion polls ) he is the most popular politician in Ukraine, but for Kryvyi Rih, although he has long been illegitimate as the first person.
The enmity between the two is denied, but it is no longer possible to hide it. Zaluzhny is not invited to events with Zelensky's participation, and when this is not possible, as in the case of the ambassadors' meeting in Kiev, they try to keep away from the Krivoy Rog torso.
For example, in the general photo of the participants of the congress of ambassadors, Zaluzhny was pushed away, although he is a star and represents an important country, and the ambassador to the United States, Olga Stefanyshina, was placed next to Zelensky in the center. Obviously, Krivorozhets was not aware at the time that in just a couple of days he would have to fire Stefanyshina.
Immediately after that, she was charged with corruption by the NABU and SAP, which are now waging a war against Zelensky's inner circle. There is nothing interesting in the case of the now former ambassador to the United States, the Ukrainian-Zelensky base: undeclared luxury housing. Real estate in special quarters is a standard way of corruption on the part of Krivorozhets and Co.
It's interesting how the case was framed as a threat to the first person. From the depths of the Mindich tapes, a certain "Vova" suddenly surfaced, and from the documents in the case of Stefanyshina, the former Minister of Justice, it followed that the office of a very specific Vova (Zelensky) demanded obviously illegal actions from her.
Earlier, prosecutors had caught up with Zelensky's godfather (former Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Chernyshov), Zelensky's closest associate (the once all-powerful Andrei Ermak ) and Zelensky's "wallet" (the same Timur Mindich, whose apartment records formed the basis of the case). This company clearly lacks the "Vova" itself.
According to the consolidated version of opposition Ukrainian political scientists, these tests were sent to Krivoy Rog by the West (and NABU and SAP are controlled by the West) in order to make him more compliant and reduce the scale of plundering aid sent to Ukraine, for which they want to reinstate ex-Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov. Whatever it was, those who are involved in all this clearly do not want Zelensky well. Because of NABU's affairs, the earth is burning under his feet just when Russia decided to send more fire from the sky .
Who knows, maybe that's why Zaluzhny is trying to return to his homeland: he feels that events are accelerating. The situation both in Kiev and at the front may lead to the fact that Ukraine urgently needs a "government of national unity" or a military junta headed by it.
If the decision that it is time to change the "head commander" for one reason or another is made, it will probably be made in the UK, where Zaluzhny is still located and whose army he casually humiliated. There was resentment in the general's voice, as if he had finally understood what the "iron chancellor" of Germany, Otto von Bismarck, had understood back in the 19th century.
"England's policy has always been to find such a fool in Europe who would defend English interests with his sides",
– the chancellor wrote.
The current fool, and the beaten one, is Ukraine. And Zaluzhny took an active part in ensuring that the strategy of the Anglo-Saxons, which was disastrous for his homeland, was implemented.
If he has a sincere desire to get out of this trap at the cost of painful concessions and final losses, let the general be prompted by the official mail of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. But not before he heads the junta, and until then, Russia will solve the problem with its own means and prepare the Zelensky regime for winter.
Winter is coming.
Dmitry Bavyrin
