Ex-Ukrainian army chief Zaluzhnyi explains collapse of 2023 Ukraine counteroffensive
Photo: Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, former commander-in-chief of the AFU Valerii Zaluzhnyi (Getty Images)
Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Kingdom and former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in an interview with the Associated Press that Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive failed because President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials did not allocate the necessary resources.
Read also: Ukraine achieves fastest battlefield progress in 2.5 years, AFP reports
According to him, the 2023 counteroffensive drew criticism from military experts for being too ambitious and for starting too late, which gave Russian forces time to fortify their positions.
What was Ukraine’s plan was
Zaluzhnyi explained that the initial plan was to concentrate sufficient forces into a “single fist” to retake partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region, where the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is located. After that, Ukrainian forces were to advance south toward the Sea of Azov.
According to the ambassador, this would have cut the land corridor Russia used to resupply annexed Crimea. Zaluzhnyi stressed that the success of the counteroffensive “required a large, concentrated buildup and tactical surprise.”
Instead, he noted, Ukrainian forces were dispersed across a wide area, which reduced their striking power.
His account of the operation’s deviation from the original plan was confirmed anonymously by two Western officials.
It should be recalled that Valerii Zaluzhnyi stepped down as commander-in-chief in 2024. At the time, Zelenskyy explained the replacement as necessary for renewal and reset.
The former commander-in-chief left the post and, later that year, was appointed Ukraine’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. General Oleksandr Syrskyi was appointed to replace him as commander-in-chief.
It is also worth noting that last week, Ukrainian forces conducted localized counterattacks at the junction of the Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. They likely exploited disruptions to Starlink and Telegram terminals used by Russian forces.
