Ukraine contemplates new war strategy in dealing with Russia – Zelensky
Photo: Volodymyr Zelensky / Office of the President
Ukraine is considering changing its war strategy with the Russian Federation.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, stated this in an interview with NBC News.
"Our military is coming up with different plans, different operations to move forward faster and deliver unexpected strikes on the Russian Federation," he said.
At the same time, Zelensky refuted recent statements by the American military, other allies, and even the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces that the war has reached a stalemate after 20 months of fierce fighting.
"They thought they would defeat us, but that didn't happen. I don't think it's a dead end," Zelensky said.
Such a position, as well as the consequences of Zaluzhnyi's comments, may have influenced Zelensky's decision last week to fire the commander of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine and replace him with a colonel who, according to the president, "will be able to give the unit more power."
It should be noted that recently, The Economist published an article by the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
According to him, the situation at the front has reached a dead end, and currently, none of the sides can advance, as they are technologically equipped alike. He noted that the war is entering a new stage – "positional," characterized by grueling battles.
As Politico noted, Valery Zaluzhnyi's article "inflamed party passions" in the American Congress and the White House declared the importance of continuing support for Ukraine.
It should be noted that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, commented on the column of the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, for The Economist, about the positional nature of the war in Ukraine.
Then, during a joint press conference with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, the Head of State emphasized that "time has passed" and "people are tired." Still, the current situation at the front "is not a stalemate."
According to American analysts, Zaluzhnyi's thoughts on "The modern positional war and how to win it" present a clearer picture of his ideas on the necessary changes for Ukraine to surpass the current "positional" phase of the war compared to his interview with The Economist.
The Institute for the Study of War emphasizes that the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief's column focuses, instead, on explaining that the current positional nature of the war is the result of technological and tactical parity on the battlefield—also, the widespread use of mine barriers by Russian and Ukrainian troops.
Zaluzhnyi considered the opportunities that are opening up for Ukraine in connection with challenges from Russia, including:
- Significant losses suffered by Russian aviation,
- Ukraine's use of Western missile and artillery weapons,
- Russia's inability to use its human mobilization resources due to political, organizational, and motivational problems.
The general concluded that positionality benefits Russia as it prolongs the war. This could lead to Russia gaining an advantage in certain areas.
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It should be noted that the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umierov, signed an order approving the Concept of Military Personnel Policy until 2028, the main emphasis of which is to meet the needs of the Armed Forces in terms of people.
