On 3rd of October I had an opportunity to visit a student's conversation with Valeriy Zaluzniy, who is the ambassador of Ukraine and he described the British army.
This was his first talk with teenagers and student and Mr Zaluzniy was talking about many issues and answered many questions including: absence of representative of Ukrainian ambassador for 14 months, the priorities of Ukraine among Britain, the difference between military situations in 22 and 24, financial assistance to Ukraine and how young people are important for the country.
Valeriy Zaluzniy initially was Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2021, so he was in charge of Ukrainian soldiers and military tactics when Russia attacked Ukraine on 24 of February and led the troops until February 2024.
He was often referred to as the “Iron General,”as he has been credited for transforming the Ukrainian military into a more agile, flexible force capable of countering Russian aggression, TIME even featured him on their cover, highlighting his crucial role in Ukraine’s military successes.
However Mr Zaluzhniy was removed from his position as Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces because of strategic disagreements, particularly following the mixed results of Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive against Russia and tensions with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Now as ambassador he represents Ukraine in Britain and defends its interests. Valeriy commented that the position of ambassador shows the attitude and amount of respect of Ukraine towards Britain, and that’s why it could not be determined who would be the ambassador for almost 14 months.
He also called Britain “a reliable partner as well as further ally of Ukraine”. He emphasized that’s his main aim is to “realize national interests of Ukraine” as well as identify ways in which Ukraine may be useful to Britain.
Following this he mentioned level of British medicine, which could be massively improved with the help of Ukrainian doctors and medics, making it more “fast and effective”.
Furthermore, as the ex Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces he made several points about the military situation in Ukraine and other countries. He distinguished two types of military tactics : the war of 1953(Korean war) and 2024(war in Ukraine), explaining that these are two turning points in military strategies of leading war.
He emphasized that tactics of Ukraine in 2022 and 2023 are still methods used since 1953, while nowadays it was renewed and massively improved.
However, the British army is still using old methods, and in this case Ukraine can be useful in implementing new military strategies to insure safety and security of both Britain and the rest of the World.
