Ukraine's draft system burdened with Soviet heritage, fixing it will take time, Zaluzhnyi says

Ukraine had to change its approach to mobilization to remove Soviet influences, but more time is needed for a proper reform, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.K. Valerii Zaluzhyni said at an event on Oct. 17 in response to a Kyiv Independent reporter.

"Unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of time, so we have to resort to certain limitations. In a democratic society, all of this is perceived as very controversial," Ukraine's former commander-in-chief said in a speech at the Chatham House in London.

Ukraine passed updated legislation on mobilization this spring in an effort to replenish its military ranks as the all-out war with Russia has been ongoing for over two and half years.

Responding to a question from the Kyiv Independent on Ukrainian internal plans during Zaluzhyni's military tenure and their implementation, the ambassador acknowledged that Ukraine had made a number of mistakes dating back many years.

"As we change our country, mentality…  (and we) order our country on a democratic basis, we had to change our approach to mobilization as well," Zaluzhyni noted. The retired general said that the mobilization system is still influenced by the Soviet heritage and "actually dates as far back as the times of Peter the Great."

"We will be able to change that only when we have enough time… to bring up a whole generation which, without any interference from the state, will take up arms and go defend their home."

In late 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the military, then under Zaluzhnyi's command, requested drafting 450,000-500,000 people in the face of a prolonged war. Zaluzhyni later denied this figure.

Uncertainties over mobilization and Zaluzhnyi's sobering statements for the media regarding the war contributed to the growing tensions between the two, with Zelensky eventually replacing the chief commander this February.

In his speech, Zaluzhyni also warned that Russia will seek to misuse any possible tensions as it wages war in the "informational and cognitive space," making the "mobilization drive even more difficult."

The accelerated mobilization push has contributed to social tensions within Ukraine, already aggravated by years of Russian attacks, energy deficits, and economic challenges.

The Kremlin's propaganda has sought to use numerous reports of scandals and conflicts between Ukrainian enlistment officials and citizens to drive a wedge
between the Ukrainian population and leadership.

Getting out of ‘protracted’ war with Russia ‘almost impossible,’ Zaluzhnyi says

“We end in a state of protracted war. In my personal opinion, a way out of which protracted war seems… almost impossible,” said Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and recently appointed ambassador to the U.K.

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova

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