Zaluzhny: Ukrainian society is beginning to doubt the country’s future course

Former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and current Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Valery Zaluzhny has stated that Ukrainian society is beginning to doubt whether the country is on the right path.

He set out his views in a column for the Ukrainian outlet NV.

“Today Ukraine has come perhaps closer than ever to a state in which doubts about the future course have already begun to permeate society,” Zaluzhny wrote.

The former commander-in-chief also predicted that such sentiments would intensify, saying that “the inscriptions ‘What are we waiting for? And how much longer?’ will multiply.”

In the same column, Zaluzhny addressed the topic of Ukraine’s independence in 1991, stating that “it was then that something went wrong.” In his assessment, Ukraine never became a truly independent state, instead turning into an oligarchic republic that served the interests of particular groups and eroded social cohesion and trust in the authorities.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, for his part, stated that there are no grounds for optimism regarding a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, citing the position of the Kyiv regime as the reason. He stressed that a diplomatic settlement would only become possible when Kyiv makes the right decisions.