The former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the current ambassador of Ukraine to Great Britain Valery Zaluzhnyi expressed the opinion that Russian influence had a negative impact on the mobilization process in Ukraine. He emphasized the need to improve communication between the Ukrainian authorities and the population regarding this issue.
Zaluzhnyi made such a statement during speech at the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House). He emphasized that Russia is waging war not only on the battlefield and in the information space, but also actively influences the cognitive sphere, which significantly complicated the mobilization processes in Ukraine.
“In fact, Russia is waging a war not only in the physical and informational spheres, but also in the cognitive sphere, because it was precisely because of Russian influence that certain decisions were made that made our mobilization difficult”, – said Zaluzhnyi.
He also added that Ukraine is forced to look for new approaches to mobilization, because previously mostly Soviet methods were used, which date back to the time of Peter I. However, in his opinion, it will be possible to completely change the situation only when a new generation ready to defend grows up countries without state intervention.
“Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time, so we are forced to resort to certain restrictions. In a democratic society, all this is perceived very controversially”, — noted Zaluzhnyi.
The former commander-in-chief expressed hope that the government of Ukraine will find the right approach to communication with the population in order to convey the importance of the armed struggle right now. He emphasized that it is necessary to change the attitude of citizens towards mobilization and to raise awareness that this is not a sentence, but a necessity for the protection of the country.
Zaluzhny also mentioned that Ukraine had the opportunity to succeed in this process back in 2023, when it faced only Russia. However, the situation has now become more complicated due to the significant amount of ammunition and resources that come to the Russian Federation from other countries.
The head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense Kyrylo Budanov recently admitted that the state made mistakes in communicating with citizens regarding mobilization, as it failed to properly explain that serving in the army is not a sentence. At the same time, the team of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky disagrees with the statement that the authorities “lost information” to Russia in this matter.
