Zaluzhnyi stated that the war cannot be won by "manpower" and named a method

Zaluzhnyi stated that the war cannot be won by "manpower" and named a method

In an interview with the editor-in-chief of LB.ua, Sonya Koshkina, Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom and former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi emphasized that a completely different war began in Ukraine in 2024, and the traditional stage of warfare, involving tank columns, concluded in December 2023. He noted that the current conflict is a war of attrition.

Zaluzhnyi identified demographic and economic factors as the most important in the future war.

"People are truly exhausted. Neither in Russia nor in Ukraine. The number of dead and wounded in both countries has already reached a critical level relative to their populations," he claims.

Zaluzhnyi added that Russia now faces a choice: in 2026, either to recruit "cannon fodder" again, specifically new soldiers from cities like Saint Petersburg and Moscow, or to consider something else.

"The solution to this stalemate (the war — ed.) is technological. It is necessary to think not about the current needs, but about what will be necessary in a year, two, or three... All this will end in three years. At most, in five. Not the war itself, but the ’finding of parity’ between offensive and defensive forces will conclude," the ambassador explained.