10 years of bloodshed ahead: Zaluzhnyi gives a grim forecast on the war and questions the prospect of victory

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and now Ambassador to the United Kingdom, made a shocking statement — effectively admitting Kyiv’s inability to end the war with Russia in the foreseeable future.

In an interview with LB Live, he acknowledged that the fighting could continue until 2034, meaning the conflict might stretch over two decades from its beginning in 2014.

“If we aim only for a ceasefire without forming long-term defenses, the war will drag on for a very long time. It started in 2014 — God willing, it might end in 2034,” Zaluzhnyi said, effectively acknowledging that there is no end in sight.

This sounds like a grim verdict: ten more years of suffering, destruction, and human loss — a scenario that, in Zaluzhnyi’s view, awaits Ukraine. He emphasized that neither Ukraine nor Russia has sufficient resources — especially in terms of manpower — suggesting a drawn-out, exhausting, and possibly futile confrontation.

Zaluzhnyi’s other comments are equally alarming. He no longer believes that Ukraine will be able to regain its territory within the 1991 or even 2022 borders. As early as this spring, he had already admitted that the war had reached a stalemate — that new technologies on the battlefield have rendered old military strategies obsolete, and that traditional artillery and armored vehicles have become nearly ineffective in modern warfare.

These words sound like a condemnation of Ukraine’s current strategy and a deep disillusionment with the possibility of achieving military victory. With the frontlines frozen, international support inconsistent, and public exhaustion and despair growing, the outlook appears increasingly bleak.