Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2021–2024) Valeriy Zaluzhny notes that NATO is built on a strategy of conflict avoidance from the Cold War era and is currently going through difficult times, as it prepared for the wars of the past.
"Searching for a way out, we return again and again to something that will make our lives easier and… we find NATO. This magical military organization each time either raises hope or prompts development, but it still remains almost the only international military-political alliance… Today, in times of rapid scientific and technological progress and, as a consequence, the development of forms and methods of armed struggle, NATO is going through very difficult times. In fact, the world’s largest military-political organization remains ready for the war of the past, still offering hope and testing the fates of the participating countries. But unfortunately, this is not the main problem of the alliance," Zaluzhny wrote in a column on the website of Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.
The main problem, according to him, is that this organization was created at the height of the Cold War, during which the goal was to avoid a nuclear conflict with the USSR. "All this was clearly observed throughout 2023, when the main thing was not to cross some red line drawn by history itself. The Cold War ended long ago. Only NATO remains unchanged, built on a strategy of avoiding conflicts. That is why Ukraine is still not a member of the alliance, despite the obvious advantages of its membership. And that is why we see unification around Ukraine, but not unification against Russia. This is why this war continues," the diplomat emphasized.
Zaluzhny stresses that such an approach by NATO has no prospects either technically or politically. "Not because NATO is bad, but because it is an alliance of the old world that no longer exists," he noted.
At the same time, the diplomat emphasized that Ukrainians, who receive assistance, respect the institution with an almost 80-year history "not only of service, but also of development, expansion, and adherence to principles that under any conditions have a human face and look absolutely unattainable precisely because of this." But in the war of attrition being waged by Ukraine, the ability of citizens to endure its continuation and international support are important, "which is aimed not only at helping, but also at physically limiting Russia and shaping the future security environment." "Only this can show a real result and give shape to the future end of the war. It is a pity that analysts do not see this. However, this does not make it any easier for us," he noted.
According to the diplomat, the security system of the new world depends on those who save an entire country in the center of Europe, and those who are ready to unite everyone on this path. "And if the former is us, Ukrainians, then who is ready to be the second – I hope we will see soon," Zaluzhny said.
