Policy

Zaluzhnyi says whether he will run in the elections

Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi will be ready to answer questions about the elections when Ukraine stands up and preserves the state.
He said this during the event “Dialogues with NV. Ukraine Changes the World” event, Ukrinform reports , citing Komersant ukrainskyi.

When asked whether he plans to run in the elections, Zaluzhny said:

“In order to answer this question, let’s first create the conditions under which such questions will be absolutely appropriate. I believe that when these conditions come, then I, as a person who is in the civil service, working directly for the state, will be ready to answer such questions.”

He also emphasized that for now there is only one task: to survive and preserve the state, and “after that we will think about the rest.”

He also added that the size of Ukraine will depend on how many people are ready to defend the country. This is not only about the Armed Forces, but also about the number of people who are ready to take up arms and defend the state.

“For some reason, I am sure that the size of Ukraine will depend on the number of people who are ready to defend it, and therefore, if we come directly to the war itself now, we must be very, very careful,” he said, adding that the state should not stand apart from the Armed Forces.

Zaluzhnyi added that the main thing for the Armed Forces is the number of prepared mobilization resources and the number of people ready to take up arms, as it was in 2022, and defend it.

The diplomat emphasized that he was not ready to talk about the exact number, as this requires calculations: “Perhaps now we can make calculations, and we will realize that half of what we have will be enough.” At the same time, the former chief called the amount of prepared mobilization resources for a long-term war the most important factor.

“From the point of view of the state, I would look more at Ukraine itself as a mobilization resource for defense, rather than at the number of people in the Armed Forces, which, by the way, will depend on many factors,” Zaluzhnyi urged.