Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and recently appointed ambassador to the U.K., delivered a speech at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense Studies in London on July 22.
It was one of Zaluzhnyi's first public addresses since his appointment as Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom. Zaluzhnyi assumed the role of Ukrainian Ambassador on July 11.
Zaluzhnyi said that now, during Russia's full-scale invasion, it is Ukrainians who are shaping new models of future warfare.
"I absolutely agree that the Russian-Ukrainian war is not yet a war of the future. It is only a war of transitional period. But it is our war that forms new rules," Zaluzhnyi said.
Ukraine creates technologies for waging war but cannot scale them, while Kyiv's partners have the resources but no opportunities to test these technologies.
Zaluzhnyi stressed that the use of resources can only be effective in cooperation between Ukraine and its partners because "time no longer works for us."
"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," he said.
"And most importantly, they will become the foundation of the entire global security system of the future."
The war with Russia in Donbas in 2014 was "completely different" from the full-scale invasion that started on Feb. 24, 2022. According to Zaluzhnyi, when the Ukrainian army relied on 2014 warfare concepts, it quickly exhausted them in May 2022.
Zaluzhnyi also highlighted the role of drones, which have recently become one of the main reasons for changes in strategy and warfare.
"But even today, it is probably necessary to introduce a broader concept – technology – into the concept of a new strategy for waging war," he added.
Zaluzhnyi said that the governments of democratic countries should think about protecting their citizens and their states against the threat of World War III.
Ukraine is ready to share its knowledge and experience with those "who seek peace and tranquility for their nations," the ambassador added.
Elsa Court
(Updated: )
