New article by Zaluzhnyi for CNN: Ukraine needs 5 months for a technological breakthrough on the battlefield
2 February 2024 09:46
Amid reports of his imminent dismissal in the near future, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, has written a new article for a Western media outlet. This time, on the pages of CNN, the Ukrainian commander develops his message from the previous article about the need for technological superiority and new approaches to the use of technology and resources. 
has prepared the main points of the article for you.
Since the end of the Second World War and to this day, the strategy for winning a war has been to destroy the enemy and capture or liberate territory.
Every military leader must understand two things. The first is technological progress and the development of weapons that one has to deal with. The second is the internal and external political conditions and economic situation.
The main technological feature of this war is the emergence and massive use of drones.
Unmanned systems such as drones, along with other types of advanced weapons, are the best way for Ukraine to avoid getting involved in a positional war where we do not have an advantage.
But this is not the only factor influencing the current strategy.
We have to fight for military support from our allies.
Our allies’ stocks of arms and ammunition are running low, and our own military-industrial complex is stalling. Sanctions are not working very effectively. The enemy’s mobilisation potential is also much higher. In these circumstances, Russia is ready to wage a war of attrition, having well established its own military-industrial complex and creating other conflict points in the world to distract our partners.
We need to look for new ways to win.
Perhaps the number one priority is to master a whole arsenal of (relatively) cheap, modern and highly efficient unmanned vehicles and other technological means.
But not only that.
For example, drones provide field commanders with up-to-date intelligence information around the clock. It even allows them to fire effectively deep into enemy positions. It is a complete rejection of an outdated way of thinking.
New operations may include the creation of a digital field, electronic control of the environment, or combined operations using attack drones and cyber capabilities.
Importantly, the objective will not always be focused solely on combat operations. It may be aimed at reducing the enemy’s economic capabilities or at exhausting it.
At the same time, improving the situation on the battlefield remains a priority. And here technology can boast of an undoubted advantage over tradition.
The remote control of these means means fewer military personnel in danger and fewer casualties. It makes it possible to reduce dependence on heavy equipment… And it opens up the possibility of sudden massive strikes on critical infrastructure and communication nodes without deploying expensive missiles or manned aircraft.
The enemy will also be looking for new opportunities. Therefore, defence systems also need to be constantly improved, as do countermeasures aimed at preventing the enemy from using new technologies.
We are talking about creating a completely new state system of technological rearmament. We believe that the creation of such a system can be achieved in five months. Our partners share the same opinion.
This time will be spent on creating an organisational structure, filling positions, training, building supporting infrastructure and logistics, and developing a doctrinal framework.
To summarise, in 2024, we should focus our main efforts on three areas:
- Creating a system to provide our armed forces with high-tech equipment.
- Introducing a new philosophy of warfare that takes into account limited resources.
- Mastering new combat capabilities as soon as possible.
We already have the capabilities to destroy the enemy and ensure the existence of our statehood. Our goal should be to seize the moment
