Existing mobilization system must change due to shifts in warfare methods, demobilization possible – Zaluzhny
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny calls appeals for the demobilization of military personnel during wartime political populism, while noting it is technically possible provided a series of measures to reform the ZSU are implemented.
"Alongside the perfectly natural evolutionary need to review the mobilization system, there are reasons universal to all military conflicts: constant losses in the Armed Forces that require replenishment; gradual ‘war fatigue’ among the civilian population; and as a result, low motivation to serve and fight among a significant portion of those already mobilized. All this leads to the necessity of introducing so-called smart mobilization, built taking into account the development of scientific and technological progress and the need for a long-term war across the entire country amid an obvious demographic crisis," Zaluzhny said during a speech at the Defence24 Days conference in Warsaw.
According to him, various models of such mobilization could be discussed, from the partial transfer of certain wartime functions to private military companies to a more structured nationwide system with clear terms of service, training, and rotations.
"Most importantly—without reforming the Armed Forces, the mobilization reserve training system, and the entire combat training system, and without a radical reform of the military-industrial complex and an urgent transition to the production of weaponry necessary to reduce human losses—such a smart approach will be impossible. A completely new smart doctrine is needed… Only then does demobilization itself become possible, but only as a result of implemented measures, not as an end in itself," the former Commander-in-Chief said.
Zaluzhny emphasized that "currently Ukraine is waging a war for survival against an enemy superior in population and resources; therefore, in current Ukrainian realities, all calls to demobilize the military are nothing more than political populism with no meaning behind them."
"Evolving events have made it obvious that mobilization and the order of service are the foundation for any variant of continuing the war. Only by resolving these issues amid demographic and economic crises is it possible to realize more ambitious goals later. However, solving this extremely complex issue is possible not by declaring goals, but only as a result of a complex process of defining necessary steps and developing a detailed step-by-step implementation plan," he noted.
The diplomat stated that the topic of demobilization during a full-scale war is often speculated upon in Ukraine, but historical experience shows that "it is impossible to find analogies or logic for mass demobilization specifically during a war." At the same time, he stressed that when speaking of maintaining combat capabilities provided by human and economic resources during mobilization, one can see the dependence of combat capabilities primarily on the level of scientific and technological progress and its impact on weaponry.
"The mobilization system, which involves maintaining the necessary level of combat capabilities during the conduct of war, must change due to the replacement of warfare methods. Indeed, this is a new and dangerous phenomenon due to its uniqueness and the lack of historical examples. However, in known human history, robots have come to war for the first time… It is high time to create technologies for protection against strikes from unmanned systems, primarily for the person. This is perhaps the only factor that prevents the creation of the necessary parity of military force," Zaluzhny said.
