Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (2021–24) Valeriy Zaluzhny has noted that the Russian-Ukrainian war has become not only a war of technologies, but also a war of strategies and doctrines that change under the pressure of progress, and therefore it is a major mistake to obsess over individual technologies and their PR, which complements Soviet strategy and requires Soviet-type executors.
"It was precisely the desire to de-occupy territories and hold them using Soviet methods and strategies, only with new weapons, that drove mobilization into a deadlock. Mobilization provided only one chance, and there were fewer and fewer willing to take it. For we are unable to endure a war of machines against a huge Soviet country where people are essentially turned into machines and thrown to fight against real machines... It is necessary, while recognizing technologies as a new weapon, to remember the patterns of the development of military art and invariably form new forms and methods of their application based on this. And only after that should organizational changes be carried out in the structure of the Armed Forces that apply this new weapon in new forms and methods. It is precisely in this place that mobilization is located as part of a new strategy based on new weapons and precisely new, rather than Soviet, forms and methods of application," Zaluzhny wrote in his article published in Ukrainska Pravda on Tuesday.
He emphasized that between Ukraine and Russia it is no longer a war of drones, since drones "have transformed into forms of weaponry more familiar to us from the past, lowering costs and availability while increasing effectiveness."
According to the diplomat, the old rules no longer apply, and therefore modern warfare requires new doctrines, while Ukraine is already experiencing the pressure of "known intermediaries" on itself due to the introduction of a new approach to waging war, without specifying who is meant. "Meanwhile, a war of technologies is already underway, and Ukraine is already experiencing systemic pressure, which is the result of implementing not only technologies, but also a new doctrinal approach to their application, including production and research as an integral part of strategy. This very thing gives Russia the right to issue ultimatums to us through known intermediaries. This is precisely what is directed at and can lead to a whole series of crises," Zaluzhny writes.
He stressed that a war of attrition "is not only battles, but also societal breakdowns, the main thing being who causes them first."
"To find a way out of an entirely natural situation, an understanding of the search for and implementation of precisely a systemic response to Russia's pressure is needed. This systemic response must be based on building such a strategy where joint production and the implementation of new technological solutions must become part of systemic steps both for defense and for influencing Russia's ability to continue the war. For this, of course, the search remains urgent for precisely resource and technological alliances capable of ensuring this production, including to satisfy our own defense needs. This production must be doctrinally included as part of the victory strategy, where it is not a magical model of weaponry that is produced, but the entire necessary new arsenal, including civilian-purpose items in accordance with the conditions of progress," Zaluzhny summarized.
