Skip to content
Edit post

NATO armies built on Korean War-era military principles, Zaluzhnyi says

by Kateryna Denisova and Francis Farrell October 17, 2024 2:54 PM 2 min read
Photo for illustrative purpose. German drone Quantum Vector during the presentation on August 24, 2024 in Ukraine. (Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
This audio is created with AI assistance

The militaries of NATO member states continue to rely on security principles and weapons "inherited from the Korean War" that will not be relevant in modern warfare, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K., said on Oct. 17, according to a Kyiv Independent reporter.

"There will be no war of the 1953 model. I am talking about the Korean War. It ended in summer 2023 in Ukraine, when two professional armies of more than a million personnel each faced each other on the battlefield," the retired general said at Chatham House in London.

When Zaluzhnyi was in charge of Ukraine's army in 2023, the Ukrainian military launched its counteroffensive aimed at pushing toward the Sea of Azov to cut Russia's land corridor to Crimea.

Failing to reach its goals, it was limited to the liberation of a few villages in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, significantly slowed down by Russian minefields and a lack of air superiority and equipment.

Since then, the near-complete saturation of the front line with drones and other unmanned system has continued to change how the war is fought.

The ambassador also stressed that modern warfare brought new technologies to the battlefield, such as drones and artificial intelligence.

Zaluzhnyi noted that it is impossible to produce expensive missiles, fighter jets, and aircraft carriers at the "massive scale" that modern warfare requires, meaning these systems will become less efficient.

South Korea and the U.S. fought against North Korea and China in a bloody war in 1950-53, leading to a ceasefire and a division along the demarcation line that stands today.

In the same speech, Zaluzhnyi said that it is almost impossible to escape the state of "protracted" war with Russia.

Victory plan includes Western-supplied missile package to force Russia to talks, Zelensky says in Brussels
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 17 that the victory plan includes placing conventional missile capabilities in Ukraine that would either force Russia to accept negotiations or destroy its military targets.

News Feed

5:54 PM

How Trump plans to end Ukraine war, according to Volker.

A few hours after Donald Trump was declared the winner of the U.S. presidential election, the Kyiv Independent sat down with Ambassador Kurt Volker, who served as the U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations in 2017-2019, and as U.S. ambassador to NATO in 2008-2009.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
Explaining Ukraine with Kate Tsurkan
* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.