Zaluzhny allowed for the possibility of peace in Ukraine without a “complete victory” over Russia

Ukraine may conclude a peace agreement with Russia even if it does not achieve the “total victory” it strives for in the war, according to the former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

This was stated by the current Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

He described possible scenarios for ending the war, including the option of a long-term freezing of hostilities for several years.

“We Ukrainians, of course, strive for a complete victory — the collapse of the Russian empire. But we cannot rule out the option of a long-term (lasting years) halt to the war, because this is a very common way wars have ended throughout history. At the same time, peace, even while waiting for the next war, gives a chance for political change, deep reforms, full-scale reconstruction, economic growth, and the return of citizens,” Zaluzhnyi writes.

He stressed that the war cannot be ended “under pressure from the latest news cycle.” The end or stoppage of a war, especially one of attrition, “will depend on the combined results of achievements or losses on the military, economic, and political fronts,” the general noted, adding that a “collapse” on one of these fronts “may only create the preconditions for ending it.” At the same time, Zaluzhnyi acknowledges that in the peace options being offered to Ukraine, “the terms do not get better each time.”

According to the former AFU commander-in-chief, it is important to remember that “war does not always end with the victory of one side and the defeat of the other.”

“That was the case in World War II, but it is a rare exception, because this has almost never been the norm in human history. The overwhelming majority of wars end either in mutual defeat, or with each side convinced it has won, or in other variants,” Valerii Zaluzhnyi notes.

In his view, a Ukrainian victory can only mean the collapse of the modern Russian empire, while defeat would be the complete occupation of Ukraine as a result of internal state collapse. All other options he calls a continuation of the war in another form.

At the same time, once peace is reached, “we can even speak of the beginning of the formation of a safe, maximally protected state” thanks to innovation and technology, of “building and strengthening the foundations of a just state through fighting corruption and creating a fair judiciary,” as well as of “the economic development of the country, including on the basis of international economic reconstruction programs,” the general points out.