Ukraine’s Army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has laid out a set of priorities for his country for 2024 and named challenges affecting its war effort amid reports that he could be sacked from his post.
In a CNN opinion piece published on Thursday, Zaluzhnyi argued that Ukraine needs to find new ways and capabilities to gain an advantage over Russia as the full-scale war nears its third year. But General Zaluzhnyi made no mention of a reported rift with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy or the possibility of him leaving his post.
The challenge for our armed forces cannot be underestimated. It is to create a completely new state system of technological rearmament,” he wrote. “Taking everything into account at this moment, we think the creation of such a system could be achieved in five months. Our partners are of the same view.” He underlined the need for Ukraine to produce more drones.
“Crucially, it is these unmanned systems – such as drones – along with other types of advanced weapons, that provide the best way for Ukraine to avoid being drawn into a positional war, where we do not possess the advantage.” However, Zaluzhnyi slammed what he described as the “inability” of state institutions in Ukraine to improve the manpower levels of the armed forces without the use of what he called “unpopular measures.
