Zaluzhnyi's record is primarily that of a defender commanding Ukraine against Russian aggression, but a
criticism-first assessment must include the limits of the 2023 campaign. As commander-in-chief, he led the
Armed Forces of Ukraine through the defense of Kyiv and later Ukrainian recoveries around Kharkiv and Kherson.
The 2023 counteroffensive nevertheless failed to achieve its central operational objectives, and in November
2023 Zaluzhnyi publicly described the war as entering a “stalemate,” exposing a strategic disagreement with
Ukraine's political leadership. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed him in February 2024, after which
Zaluzhnyi became ambassador to the United Kingdom. The setback belongs in his command record without erasing
the larger defensive context or assigning sole responsibility for a multi-actor war plan.
Zaluzhnyi became commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2021 and remained in that post when
Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Under his command, Ukrainian forces prevented the
capture of Kyiv and later retook substantial territory in the Kharkiv region and the city of Kherson. Those
outcomes were collective military achievements involving political leaders, commanders at multiple levels,
soldiers, intelligence, foreign assistance and civilian resilience, so the record does not assign them
exclusively to Zaluzhnyi. His position nevertheless made him one of the central operational leaders of
Ukraine's defense.
Zaluzhnyi's record should be judged as senior command in a collective defensive war. The successful defense of
Ukraine cannot be assigned to one commander, and the limits of the 2023 campaign cannot be assigned to him
alone. His 1 November 2023 assessment and 8 February 2024 removal are important because they show the
strategic and civil-military tensions that emerged after the counteroffensive failed to deliver the hoped-for
breakthrough.
