Who is the “Iron General” who leads the extraordinary Ukrainian resistance to Putin's brutal offensive

At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, very few would have bet on the success of the Kiev army. No one except Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, who for two months has been leading his extraordinary resistance to the brutal offensive in Moscow.

Zaluznhy, who was not yet 49 years old, was promoted to the head of the Ukrainian armed forces last July, after a major restructuring of commands ordered by President Volodymyr Zelensky, with the aim of rejuvenating the Ukrainian armed forces.

The Ukrainian leader was born into a military family, spent his childhood in the city of his mother Chernihiv and as a child dreamed of becoming a simple soldier. Today he is known as the 'iron general'” or the “indestructible”, as they call him in his homeland where he is already considered a hero.

Incorporated in 1997 into the armed forces, Zaluzhny graduated in 2007 from the National Defense Academy. It is part of the first generation of officers formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the independence of Ukraine in 1991, and has a very strong position in favor of the integration of Ukrainian forces into NATO.

He embodies a generation of military personnel preparing for all-out war against Russia since 2014, the year in which he fought against pro-Russian separatist forces in the Donbas, in the east of the country.

According to a profile of Zaluzhny published by the English magazine The Economist, Ukrainian forces were seriously damaged in those battles, but the surviving officers then tanned their warrior determination.

This is the same group of professional military personnel who, lacking the rigid Soviet approach of their predecessors, have in recent weeks managed to displace the forces of Moscow in a more agile, decentralized and creative style of war.

In fact, in an interview two years ago, he had said: “We need to move away from map warfare, from battles in the style of 1943.”

Thus, Zaluzhny was training the forces under his command in the use of the most modern Western-made weapons, from drones to surface-to-air and anti-tank missiles, and has passed frequent joint exercises with the British and American armed forces.

When the Russian invasion was still a possibility, Zaluzhny had warned Putin's troops.

“We will receive them not with flowers, but with stingers and javelins; welcome to hell.”

Stingers and javelins are Western-made missiles that can be fired by infantry troops: in the hands of Ukrainians, they are a real torment for Russian troops.

Low profile

Despite the successes achieved by the Ukrainian resistance, Zaluzhny dislikes the international prominence.

Since February, when Putin's invasion began, he gave only a few interviews. Public appearances were also counted. The most frequent communications are given through your Facebook account.

Some are brief operational updates, others are messages of thanks to the doctors, troops and the Ukrainian people.

“The armed forces of Ukraine are the shield of Europe,” he wrote on March 22. “The price of freedom is high. Remember that!”

On April 2, he stated that “Ukrainians have forgotten that they are afraid. Our goal is to win.”

The last, longest publication is from April 3 and concerns his phone call with the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Mark Milley.

In that call, the Ukrainian commander expressed Kiev's appreciation for the support, but reiterated his call for greater military support.

“With the help of the West we can eliminate evil. Because we don't want what happened in Ukraine to happen in Europe too: the killing of women and children, the demolition of infrastructure,” he said.

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