Valeriy Zalushnyi is a general with iron nerves. This was the only way he could stop the Russian onslaught on Kyiv and Kharkov and finally throw the Russians back. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the political face of the resistance, but on the battlefield four-star general Zalushnyi fights against the Russian army. Now he gave the British “Economist” one of his rare interviews.
When he invaded Ukraine, Putin did not mobilize 200,000 men. Meanwhile, the Russian armed forces are far more numerous. Zalushny believes a new force is being formed deep in Russia.
“Russia is preparing new resources… 100 percent,” the general told The Economist. “We must prepare for the new war, which can start in February, at best in March and at worst in late January.” Don’t be fooled by reports of mobilization breakdowns. “The Russian mobilization worked,” said the general. “It is not true that their problems are so bad that these people will not fight. They will fight. The tsar tells them to go to war and they go to war.”
Fighting is currently concentrated in the area around Bakhmut and Soledar. But Zalushny does not expect the main thrust of the upcoming offensive in Donbass. “It won’t start in Donbass, but in the direction of Kyiv, from Belarus, I don’t exclude the southern direction from Crimea either. The Russians are preparing about 200,000 fresh soldiers. I have no doubt that they will still be there in Kyiv will try once.”
According to Zalushny, the attack on the Ukrainian capital was “militarily the right decision – the easiest way to achieve their goal. I would have done the same.” The chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, is now concentrating on the Donbass “to preserve the resources that are left to him”.
The interview in the “Economist” also serves to call on the allies to make more efforts. For this, Zalushnyj, the hero of Kyiv, throws his enormous reputation into the balance. The Ukrainian army urgently needs new equipment. “I know I can defeat this enemy. But I need resources. I need 300 main battle tanks, 600 to 700 armored personnel carriers, 500 howitzers.”
“Then I think it’s totally realistic to retake all the territory captured since the beginning of the war. But I can’t do it with two brigades. “I get what I get, but it’s less than what I need.”
The successful counter-offensives at Kharkov and Cherson were carried out by the Ukrainian armed forces with the help of arms supplied by the allies. More than 300 T-72 battle tanks alone were provided, mainly by Poland and Slovakia. But these forces are constantly worn out in the hard battles. To withstand the coming offensive, Ukraine needs new equipment.
The Russians will continue to fight, the general said, until their resources are exhausted. And that can take time. Zalushnyj pointed out that the Kremlin can draw on up to 1.5 million reservists.
He assured that Kyiv was also working on a “major operation”. But Russian forces are doing everything in their power to prevent Kyiv from striking back. So the bloody battles make sense, even if Moscow hardly gains ground. “That’s why we see battles along the 1500km front line… They bind our troops and don’t allow us to regroup.”
“The next problem we have now is to hold that line and not lose more ground. It’s crucial. Our troops are all fighting now, they’re bleeding.”
There is also reason for optimism. Zalushnyi said the new army will be similar in size to the one that attacked in February, but will not be of the same quality. The general assumes that Putin has lost most of his best equipment and that the best soldiers and commanders are already out.
Which:Economist
