“Classic offensive operations have lost their effectiveness”: former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Zaluzhny believes the war has reached a stalemate

The war has reached a stalemate because new technologies have made traditional types of weapons and classical operational tactics ineffective.

This was stated by Ukraine’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, at the Ukraine–United Kingdom Defense Technology Forum organized by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

The former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine believes that technological advancements have completely changed the nature of warfare, rendering older weaponry largely obsolete. For example, due to the development of electronic warfare (EW), the effectiveness of expensive missiles and precision munitions “has dropped to zero.” The widespread use of visual reconnaissance tools and strike drones has also transformed both tactical application and operational art.

“At the operational level, the war has essentially reached a stalemate. Deep maneuvers or strikes into operational depth have become impossible — largely because the struggle between drone systems on one side and electronic warfare and air defense systems on the other continues. As a result, classical offensive operations have not only lost their effectiveness but have become almost suicidal,” Zaluzhnyi said.

According to him, over time, even offensive actions by small, highly mobile, and technologically equipped tactical groups — closely coordinated with situational awareness, support systems, EW, and air defense — have lost their effectiveness.

It’s worth noting that Zaluzhnyi made a similar statement about the stalemate in the war back in the fall of 2023, after the failure of the counteroffensive. Following that article, tensions arose between him and President Volodymyr Zelensky, which ultimately led to Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal in the spring of 2024.