Biography of Valery Zaluzhny/Ministry of Defense
< strong _ngcontent-sc126="">Under the leadership of General Valery Zaluzhny, the Armed Forces have been effectively resisting the powerful Russian army for almost 2 months now. The enemy's plans to capture Ukraine as soon as possible have been shattered to the ground.
- 1Valery Zaluzhny: biography
- 2What leadership positions did he hold?
- 3Zaluzhny and the war in Donbass
- 4War between Russia and Ukraine in 2022
Zaluzhny effectively commands the Ukrainian army. After all, the Russians did not manage to capture Kyiv and the northern regions. Read more about the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the article on Channel 24.
Valery Zaluzny: biography
Born in the Zhytomyr region in Novograd-Volynsky on July 8, 1973 in a military family. After school he graduated from the engineering college.
In 1997 he graduated with honors from the general military faculty of the Odessa Higher United Command School. In 2005 he entered the National Defense Academy of Ukraine, in 2007 he graduated with a gold medal.
Valery Zaluzhny in his youth/Photo from Sharp's telegram channel
After that, he was appointed chief of staff – first deputy commander of the 24th separate mechanized brigade in Yavoriv, Lviv region. He successfully served in this position for two and a half years. In 2009, he was appointed commander of the 51st Separate Mechanized Brigade, which he commanded until 2012.
He received the rank of Major General on August 23, 2017.
Married. Has two daughters. As he himself said in an interview, “the eldest is a military man, serves in the Kiev garrison, the younger one studies in Odessa, dreams of becoming a doctor.”
What leadership positions did he hold?
In 2017, Zaluzhny was appointed Chief of Staff – First Deputy Commander of the Operational Command West ” Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In 2018, he became the head of the Joint Operational Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine – First Deputy Commander of the Joint Forces.
Valery Zaluzhny/Photo OK “Sever”
In 2019, he was appointed Commander of the Sever Operational Command.
Zaluzhny and the War in Donbass
When introducing Zaluzhny to the personnel of the “North” operational command, the officers noted: “We know him from the front, we often encountered him in the combat area and we have a positive experience in performing tasks under his command.”
Participated in hostilities in the Donbass . He does not like to talk about his combat experience himself – I am sure that the fate of a general and the fate of a soldier in a war are perceived differently.
“For me, the war began in mid-July 2014, with the appointment as deputy commander of Sector C, which was being formed in the Donbass. Since then, he led almost all the groups that were created there. He reached the Chief of Staff of the Joint Forces. I remember, probably … soldiers. Until now, we call up and correspond with many of them. I am glad when I can help them with something – to solve some military or domestic issues, “Zaluzhny said in an interview.
Zaluzhny spoke about the 2014 war/Photo by the Ministry of Defense
About difficult events … This is probably 2014. August. Then Debaltseve. It was somehow restless. Feeling of constant threat. In my heart and soul… It seemed that it would be even worse than it was in 2014. The 25th battalion, which I brought there, to the Debaltseve region, was imprinted quite well in my memory, and placed it in position. The first battles, the first losses … Then the attitude towards the soldier completely changed, – he also said.
Also, according to him, in the war it was sometimes difficult with the mobilized.
“They are not , as we read in the charter. It was they who did what we have with their life and blood – they stopped the enemy, and now we are standing on our positions … This is their merit,” Zaluzny emphasized.
War between Russia and Ukraine in 2022
The authoritative American publication Politico calls Zaluzhny an “iron general” and says that the commander will become a legendary figure in the history of Ukraine. After all, the success of the Ukrainian army, which surprised the whole world, is the merit of Zaluzhny.
The general is the personification of a new generation of Ukrainian officers, which was formed during the 8-year war in the Donbass and during exercises with NATO. The Armed Forces of Ukraine succeeded in changing the authoritarian nature that Soviet military training had shaped.
Zaluzhny is confident in the victory of the Ukrainians/Photo from the General's Facebook page
Note that Zaluzhny was appointed to the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the summer of 2021. That is, when the threat of a full-scale offensive by Russia has already begun to grow. After all, the aggressor state pulled its troops to the border of Ukraine back in April 2021. 2 months before the large-scale war, Zaluzhny said that our army was ready.
The threat of full-scale aggression exists, has been and will continue. Our task as the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not to wait for “manna from heaven”, we must prepare for this. And we are doing everything for this,” Zaluzhny said in September 2021.
By the way, on March 4, on the 9th day of the war with Russia, President Vladimir Zelensky gave Zaluzhny the rank of general. After all, the military successfully commands the Ukrainian army, and the whole world admires his professionalism.
