The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhnyi, gave a great deal interview to journalist Dmytro Komarov as part of the project "Year. Voice-over. General".
It is worth noting that previously Valery Zaluzhny rarely gave comments to the press, moreover, they were in text format, and this is the first interview in video format since the beginning of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Why did the war start, and what is its essence for Russians now
It is surprising that such a thing can happen in the XNUMXst century, the iron general believes
The Russian military wanted to destroy Ukrainian statehood, but they did not succeed, and now the occupiers are deliberately going to Ukraine to destroy Ukrainians.
"Russia's strategic goal was to destroy Ukrainian statehood as such. They probably expected that they would enter in organized columns, people would meet them with bread and salt, and that would be the end of Ukrainian statehood. When the Ukrainians began to resist, when they began to defend themselves, as of today they (Russians, Ed.) are deliberately coming here from the Russian Federation to deliberately kill Ukrainians, to kill, and the essence of this war is that if we do not destroy this enemy, then we will be destroyed. Because they are deliberately going to kill Ukrainians and inflict insane losses on us," Zaluzhny emphasized.
How the Armed Forces of Ukraine prepared for a full-scale Russian invasion
First of all, preparation for the attack of Russia took place during the ATO and OOS, which became a "school" for Ukrainian fighters
"For eight years we did this, for eight years we fought, for eight years we were mentally prepared to kill the enemy, and not wait for him to calm down and leave us alone. These 8 years of war hardened us and taught us to fight, which the Russians did not expect from us. It was a school for us. We have been preparing mentally and physically for 8 years," the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces emphasized.
In addition, a complex of actions was created before the invasion, which led to the idea that the only option for the Armed Forces to resist the overwhelming enemy forces could be to inflict the greatest possible losses on him.
"This whole complex that we conducted led us to think that there is only one option that can work in this situation. It consisted in inflicting maximum losses on the enemy in a short period of time, so that he would refuse further actions on the larger territory of Ukraine. And it worked," said Zaluzhny.
About the insane losses of the enemy in the war
«They (the occupiers. - Ed.) are suffering tremendous losses. In particular, in the Donetsk operational direction and in the Bakhmut area. There is only one conclusion: the cheapest thing this country has is human life. It's the cheapest it can be. In our country, on the contrary, it is the most expensive", said the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Who is the only person in the Russian Federation whose actions and statements he follows with his head
In Russia, there is one military commander whom I read all the time - this is Gerasimov - the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhnyi
"Currently he is not there. At least he doesn't publish anything fresh, but I read this man and I'm interested in his point of view as a military man."
According to Zaluzhny, the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces is a "strong and insidious, sometimes unpredictable" enemy: In a word, a strong enemy. Which we, the military, even need to respect for victory."
«This enemy cannot be underestimated. He is strong, he is insidious and he is, shall we say, unpredictable. In a word, this is a strong enemy. Which we, the military, must also respect. For the sake of victory." - he added with his head.
About the liberation of Crimea and Donbas
«We know what it takes. We know what is needed to liberate Crimea, what is needed to liberate Donetsk region, Luhansk region, but this is a very, very large amount of work that will not be done quickly.", — noted the commander-in-chief.
Factor of the future victory of Ukraine
«I want to say again that so far everything rests on the shoulders of ordinary people... The war is started by military personnel and finished by teachers, accountants, engineers... Which is basically what is happening now", said the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Victory is not only the liberation of the entire territory of Ukraine from the Russians
"Our victory is, unequivocally, the liberation of the entire occupied territory of Ukraine. The entire territory should be liberated, but this is not enough. Ukraine as a state must do everything to ensure that everything that started on February 24, 2022, never happens again. World history knows states that live and show that it is better not to touch them. Ukraine should become such a state," Zaluzhny emphasized.
Even when the emotions on the face do not show pain, the heart still feels it, the head admits
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, is aware that the position he holds does not involve manifestations of weakness, but he is a "normal person with a normal heart", and nothing human is foreign to him. Especially when it comes to Ukrainian soldiers who died in the war.
"First of all, I am a normal person with a completely normal heart. And the fact that emotions in the face and behavior do not reveal human pain does not mean anything. In fact, the heart feels everything, and sometimes it is very, very painful," says the general.
To always be aware of the most important things, read us at Telegram
