Asger Risom
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi warned that Europe and the wider West can no longer rely on old assumptions about security, arguing that the post-war global order is beginning to collapse under the pressure of modern conflicts.
Europe has spent decades believing large-scale war could be contained or avoided altogether, according to Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former top military commander.
Now serving as Kyiv’s ambassador to the United Kingdom, Zaluzhnyi warned that the assumptions underpinning Western security since the end of World War II are rapidly breaking down.
Three stages
Speaking in comments reported by the Ukrainian outlet NV.ua and cited by Czech publication Novinky.cz, Zaluzhnyi said countries facing security threats often move through three distinct stages of denial and realization.
The first stage, he said, is when political leaders convince themselves that looming dangers will eventually disappear or can simply be postponed until another election cycle.
According to Zaluzhnyi, governments then enter a second phase where they attempt to shift responsibility onto military institutions while approving new weapons contracts instead of confronting deeper structural problems.
Harsh awakening
The final stage arrives only when society understands the scale of the crisis, he argued.
“This comes at a time when the army is running out of strength, and the state suddenly realizes that war is not just a problem for soldiers, but for the whole of society, including all state institutions. In a war where the fate of a nation is at stake, there are no compromises. You cannot be half dead or half alive,” warned the former Ukrainian commander.
Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine’s experience extends beyond battlefield survival and should instead be viewed as a warning about how modern states must rethink security, governance and military preparedness.
“Europe must accept that the illusion is ending, and the entire West must accept the harsh reality,” he added.
World order shaken
The ambassador also argued that the global system established after 1945, and later reinforced following the collapse of the Soviet Union, is losing its ability to preserve stability.
According to Zaluzhnyi, recent wars in Ukraine and the Middle East demonstrate that international law and multinational institutions are no longer capable of guaranteeing peace and security.
He further claimed that attempts to negotiate Ukraine’s future through agreements involving territory, security guarantees and natural resources had exposed how global power politics now operate under different rules.
NATO questioned
Zaluzhnyi also cast doubt on NATO’s readiness for modern warfare, saying the alliance may no longer be fully capable of guaranteeing the security of its members.
He attributed this both to technical shortcomings and to what he described as political hesitation when difficult decisions are required.
“The time for change has come, solutions await. Solutions that will remain in history,” concluded Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Sources: Digi24, Novinky.cz, NV.ua
