Without him, the Russian flag would fly over kyiv. On February 23, 2022, hardly anyone in the world imagines that Vladimir Putin will trigger, a few hours later, the greatest conflict ever seen in Europe since the Second World War. Apart from the Anglo-American intelligence services, the Ukrainian general in chief Valeri Zaloujny and his staff are the only ones to have anticipated the invasion. And for a simple reason: they have been at war for eight years, engaged in Donbass (Eastern Ukraine), in battles which have already left 15,000 dead on the Ukrainian side. “On February 24, the main objective was to hold kyiv at all costs,” the round-faced senior officer recently explained to The Economist. Our other belief, which we practice as a religion, is that the Russians had to be and must be killed, simply killed, and that we must not be afraid to do so.”
With this unshakeable state of mind, his solid experience and his battlefield intelligence, he managed to stop the Russian offensive in six days, administering to Vladimir Putin the most stinging humiliation of his reign. He lays a formidable trap for the enemy by letting him advance towards kyiv. Much too stretched on its lines, the Russian army is being crushed by very mobile Ukrainian forces, applying guerrilla tactics. Unable to advance further, it had to give up taking the capital and withdrew from the entire northern part of the country.
Qualities of strategist, logistician and manager
Subsequently, the “steel general” – his nickname – accumulates successes, notably at the end of the summer, when the surprise breakthrough of Kharkiv provokes an opposing debacle, then in November, with the resumption of Kherson, maneuvers already entered in the manuals of military tactics. Others could follow in the months to come: Americans and Europeans have finally just granted him the dozens of Abrams and Leopard heavy tanks of Western manufacture, deemed superior to the Soviet models, which he had been asking for months. Enough to prepare other counter-offensives with a view to the hoped-for reconquest of the occupied territories.
“With him in command, the Ukrainian generals have undoubtedly built the most effective military institution that exists on earth today, applauds Australian General Mick Ryan, associated with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), in Washington. Zalouzhny combines qualities of strategist, logistician and, also, manager. While leading the war day to day, he does not lose sight of the need to train his soldiers in order to increase their skills.” And he maintains a climate of trust with his subordinates, starting with the commander of the ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, architect of the victory of Kharkiv. “However, the winning armies are generally those which have established good working relationships at all levels”, observes Mick Ryan.
Born in 1973, in a Soviet garrison town located 200 kilometers west of kyiv, he first thought of becoming an actor. Like President Volodymyr Zelensky! At 20, this son of a soldier nevertheless joined the Land Forces Institute of the Odessa Military Academy, before completing his training at the National Defense Academy in kyiv. For his graduation thesis, Zalouzhny analyzes the structure of the American army, which inspired him to improve the organization of Ukrainian forces.
When the Donbass war broke out in 2014, he was sent to the front. Colonel, he was at the head of an armored brigade during the deadly battle of Debaltesve, in January 2015, a Ukrainian defeat which ended with the Minsk ceasefire agreement. He learned a great lesson from this: to get the best out of his men, you have to switch to an “American-style” command, which leaves a great margin of initiative to his troops in the field, including the non-commissioned officers. (sergeants, warrant officers).
This is the opposite of the “Russian” way of working of his counterpart Valeri Guerassimov – whose prose Zaloujny has however read and whom he respects. “Among the Russians, no one takes the slightest initiative or raises the slightest criticism to the upper echelons for fear of ending up doing potato chores or, worse, of being severely punished, notes Finnish General Pekka Toveri, a good connoisseur of the mentality of the large neighboring country. There is no more vertical and “old school” than this army, as illustrated by the recent statement by Gerasimov.” Wanting to instil the spirit of discipline, he insisted on the need to iron uniforms and shave freshly… A speech received with great sarcasm in the Russian trenches and on social networks.
“He alone knows the real state of his army”
Gerassimov, 67, has led the Russian army since 2012. Zalouzhny, who will turn 50 on July 8, was only promoted to head that of Ukraine in the summer of 2021. If they were both born and raised in the USSR, their military outlook diverged as the ties between their countries came undone. “To understand how the Ukrainian general works, you have to reason as for Napoleon and ask yourself what he was doing and thinking at the age of 20, analyzes Admiral Pascal Ausseur. However, when he was that age , in 1993, the Soviet world had already collapsed for two years, giving birth to the independent Ukraine.” Ausseur continues: “Unlike Guerassimov, who experienced this event as a downgrade – just like Putin – Zaloujny is very comfortable in the modern Western world. This is visible, for example, through the inventiveness of the army which integrates new technologies into combat, such as smartphone applications or civilian drones.”
Less known than President Zelensky internationally, but celebrated at home as a hero, the army chief is unanimous among the troops, where his sense of humility is appreciated. “The respect he inspires is a decisive asset because, in this position, each decision can mean the death of soldiers, continues Finnish General Toveri. It is essential that the latter know that they will not be sent into the fire thoughtlessly. ” At the end of January, Zalouzhny further increased his sympathy capital when an American-Ukrainian billionaire offered him 1 million dollars… which he immediately returned to the Ukrainian army. Another quality is his sense of humour: “Knowing how to remain calm in the midst of chaos, not to panic and, better still, to be able to crack jokes, helps relieve the pressure, in staff meetings such as on the battlefield,” said Dan Rice, an Iraq War veteran who became Zalouzhny’s special adviser.
No less important is the good relationship between the soldier and the Head of State, to whom he takes care not to overshadow. “Knowing how to listen to politics and translate his will into military terms, that’s the whole art of a good commander-in-chief”, underlines General Jean-Paul Paloméros, veteran of the Bosnian war and former Allied commander within the ‘NATO. He says he is “amazed” by the intelligence of Zaloujny, who must both “think about the medium and long term”, “continuously integrate disparate Western material”, “take into account the requirements of international allies” and “face the ‘one of the most powerful armies in the world’. His Australian counterpart Mick Ryan compares the Zelensky-Zaluzhny tandem to that of Franklin D. Roosevelt with General George C. Marshall, “who continually raised new military forces while making choices every day to prioritize this or that campaign. military”.
No one knows what Valeri Zaloujny really has in mind – “only he knows the real state of his army”, slips Paloméros. But one thing is certain: he keeps several scenarios in mind, refusing to give the slightest clue about a Ukrainian initiative. In his interview with The Economisthere is how, lucid and realistic, he evokes the future: “The Russians are preparing 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt that they have not abandoned the idea of taking kyiv. At some point given, they will try their luck again.”