Zaluzhnyi celebrates his 50th birthday: the most interesting facts about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (photos, video)

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi is called an “iron general” who inflicts one defeat after another on the enemy. Focus has collected the most interesting facts about a Ukrainian officer who is resisting a full-scale Russian invasion.

Today, on July 8, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, celebrates his 50th birthday. He took office in 2021, but most Ukrainians learned about him only in 2022 after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. Under Zaluzhnyi’s command, Ukrainian troops were able to destroy the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army by achieving success on the battlefield.

How the success of the Commander-in-Chief is assessed

For the Financial Times article, Vitaliy Markiv, an officer of the National Guard of Ukraine, said that Zaluzhnyi knows the enemy very well. It quickly adapts to changing circumstances on the battlefield

“It’s great when you know the enemy, how they operate, and with the help of foreign partners you can hit them at their weakest points. This is how Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny acts,” Markiv said.

In addition, former Ukrainian Defense Minister Andriy Zahorodniuk told reporters that Zaluzhnyi’s success lies in his ability to delegate authority properly, encourage initiative from lower ranks, and get the feedback needed to respond correctly to all opportunities. His leadership style enables others to realize their talents.

“People on the ground know the situation much better than those in Kyiv,” the former minister said.

However, not only Ukrainians praise Valeriy Zaluzhny for his professionalism. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also praised the abilities of the “Iron General”. According to him, the Ukrainian commander-in-chief can quickly respond to the movements and failures of the Russian army. As an example, he cited the defense of Kyiv in the early days of the war, when Russian troops overstretched their supply lines and got bogged down. Then the Defense Forces were able to break them from the flanks.

“Scoop out” or new people for a new army

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi never served in the Soviet Union’s army or studied in its educational institutions. Back in 2020, when Zaluzhnyi was the commander of the Northern Command, he told ArmyInform that he wanted to move away from the standards of the USSR army.

“We want to move away from maps, from writing combat orders like in 1943. We want to move away from these meaningless reports near the maps,” Zaluzhny said.

The general is also positive about the fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being filled with new personnel.

“These are completely different people. Not like we were when we were lieutenants. These are new sprouts who will change the army completely in five years. Almost all of them know a foreign language well, work well with gadgets, and are well read,” he said.

Preparing for a full-scale war with Russia

Already in 2023, in an interview with Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Komarov, Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny said that in 2021 he was preparing for a full-scale Russian invasion. The general and his subordinates realized that there would be an offensive from almost all directions.

“Probably by the end of February, we had exhausted our imagination as to what else we could do. We did something, then checked how effective it was, came to the conclusion that the solution was not effective, and changed it. Again, we worked out the full complex, evaluated it again, and got a negative result. This is how we came to what we have now,” Zaluzhny said.

In addition, the general noted that for him the war began in 2014. Despite the fact that it was first called the Anti-Terrorist Operation and then the Joint Forces Operation, it was a war in which people died and Ukraine lost its territories.

“It was these eight years of war that hardened us and taught us how to fight, which, accordingly, the Russians did not expect from us. But it was a school for us. In fact, we have been preparing both mentally and physically for all 8 years,” Zaluzhny said.

Valeriy Zaluzhnyi on preparations for war with Russia

Zaluzhnyi’s life story

Valerii Fedorovych Zaluzhnyi was born on July 8, 1973, in the city of Novohrad-Volynskyi, Zhytomyr region. In 1997, he graduated with honors from the Odesa Institute of the Land Forces. After that, he went through all the stages of military service: platoon commander, training platoon commander, combat platoon commander, company commander, cadet company commander, battalion commander.

In 2007, he graduated from the National Defense Academy of Ukraine with a gold medal, and in 2014, he graduated from the Ivan Chernyakhovsky National Defense University of Ukraine. As the best graduate of the operational and strategic level of training, he was awarded the Queen’s Transitional Sword of the United Kingdom.

He took office as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on July 27, 2021.

Zaluzhny is married and has two daughters. He was awarded the Cross of Military Merit, the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky, III class, the Order of St. Great Martyr Yuriy the Victorious, and other state awards.

Donated a million dollars to the Ukrainian Armed Forces

In January 2013, Valeriy Zaluzhny received a $1 million inheritance from Gregory Stepanets, a US citizen of Ukrainian descent. Stepanets was not related to Zaluzhny, and the inheritance was symbolic and quite unexpected for the commander-in-chief himself. The general transferred all the money in full to a special account of the National Bank of Ukraine to raise funds for the army.

“I gave my whole life to the armed forces. I had no doubt what I should do with my inheritance. Hryhoriy’s last will was obviously to support the Ukrainian army in my person,” Zaluzhnyi commented on his action.

Valeriy Zaluzhny’s most famous quotes

• “In fierce battles, under the steel rain of Russian shells, we held on to every piece of our land. We stopped the enemy invasion and buried the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army,” Zaluzhny said in his congratulations to the defenders of Ukraine on October 14, 2022.
• “I am proud to be in the same ranks with you. Heroic soldiers and heroic cities are our reality. No matter how hard it is for us, we will certainly not be ashamed,” Zaluzhny wrote in his address on March 7, 2022.
• “Unfortunately, heroes die. They gain eternal life and eternal glory, remain our spiritual guide and example for future generations of Ukrainians. But they are no longer there for those who need the living,” Zaluzhny said on August 29, 2022.
• “Unity is our main weapon,” Zaluzhny said on March 9, 2022.

On June 30, Zaluzhnyi said that the mutiny of the Wagner PMC militants and their leader Yevhen Prygozhyn had not brought any changes to the battlefield. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces believes that there are many dangers for Ukraine and the task of Ukrainian defenders is to prepare for every possible scenario.