World
We strive for complete victory, the collapse of the Russian Empire. Zaluzhny
Ukraine may sign a peace agreement with Russia even if it does not achieve the “complete victory” it is striving for in the war, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ukrainian Ambassador to Britain Valery Zaluzhny said.
In an article published on Saturday, November 29, on Liga.net, he outlined possible scenarios for the end of the war.
“We Ukrainians, of course, strive for complete victory, the collapse of the Russian Empire. But we also cannot rule out the possibility of a long-term (years-long) end to the war, since this has been a prevalent method of ending wars throughout history. At the same time, peace, even on the eve of the next war, provides an opportunity for political change, deep reforms, full recovery, economic growth, and the return of citizens,” Zaluzhny wrote.
He stressed that the war cannot end under the pressure of yet another media event. The end or cessation of the war, especially the war of attrition, “will depend on the combined gains and losses on the military, economic, and political fronts.”
He added that the “collapse” of one of these fronts “can only create the prerequisites for its end.” At the same time, Zaluzhny admits that the options for a peace agreement offered to Ukraine “are not always improved.”
According to the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, it is essential to remember that “war does not always end with the victory of one side and the defeat of the other.” “This happened in World War II, but it is a rare exception, since it has rarely happened in the history of humanity. The vast majority of wars end either with mutual defeat, or each side is confident of victory, or in some other scenario,” notes Valery Zaluzhny.
Ukraine’s victory, he says, can only be the collapse of the modern Russian Empire. At the same time, defeat can be the complete occupation of Ukraine as a result of the internal collapse of the state. He calls all other options a continuation of the war in a different form.
At the same time, when peace is established, “we can even talk about the beginning of the formation of a safe, maximally protected state” thanks to innovation and technology, “the formation and strengthening of the foundations of a just state through the fight against corruption and the creation of a fair court,” and “the country’s economic development, in particular, based on international economic programs for the reconstruction of the country,” the general notes.
