Valeriy Zaluzhyny, the former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces and current Ukrainian ambassador to Britain, believes that Ukrainian society has growing doubts about the country's future.
"Today, Ukraine is perhaps closer than ever to a state where doubts about the future path are beginning to permeate society," Zaluzhnye wrote in an article he wrote for the Ukrainian newspaper NV on the 35th anniversary of Ukraine's declaration of independence.
The ambassador addressed the period following Ukraine's declaration of independence in 1991, stating that "that's when something went wrong." According to him, instead of building the Ukrainian state that generations of its people had struggled for, "Ukrainians got a tribal, oligarchic republic that defended the interests of a few while systematically destroying the trust and unity of society."
Zaluzhny described what he called the neglect of the issue of state defense as a grave mistake, saying: "We, as Ukrainian citizens, not only disarmed our army, but also lost strategic factories, institutions, scientific capabilities, and technological production. This is precisely what we lack today to build our missile and missile defense industry."
Zalozhny stressed that "the security of the state cannot be based on external assurances alone, nor even on guarantees. No document can replace the state's ability to defend itself."
The Ukrainian ambassador added: " I do not rule out the idea of international security alliances and blocs , but I realize that they will only be useful if they are backed by self-reliance, economic stability, and technological superiority."
He stressed that building the future of Ukraine requires "an effective and purposeful development strategy that places security at the heart of its priorities," adding that "security is not limited to modern armed forces, but also includes training physicists, mathematicians and engineers, and is linked to understanding history and preserving roots as the key to the nation's survival."
Amid the resounding corruption scandals that regularly rock Ukraine, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov recently called for presidential elections aimed at renewing and reforming state institutions, warning that the rampant level of corruption in his country would prevent a resolution to the armed conflict and would not allow for the country's reconstruction.
However, it appears that all the main figures and forces competing with Volodymyr Zelensky for the leadership of Ukraine share a common denominator: hostility towards Russia and a reliance on military force against it with the support of the West.
