An Outdated Alliance
According to the Ukrainian ambassador, “it is impossible to join an organization that is guided by World War II doctrines”, particularly given the current capabilities of Ukraine's armed forces. He added, however, that “Ukraine needs technologies that NATO countries currently have”. Since 2019, Ukraine's constitution has defined full NATO membership as one of the country's strategic goals.
Zaluzhnyi argued that NATO would need about 12 years to develop the military capabilities required to at least partially match those of Russia's armed forces. He also said that joint military exercises increasingly show NATO forces lagging behind both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries.
“Ukraine will align itself with blocs and alliances that are likely to emerge. Most probably, this will be a European military security bloc”, Zaluzhnyi said, noting that the command structures of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) have existed since 2015.
“It is true that they are still weak, they are not yet at the level we need”, the retired general stated. He also pointed out that the JEF currently lacks collective security and mutual defense commitments among its members.
In early November 2025, Ukraine was granted enhanced partnership status within the JEF, a defense coalition of Northern and Eastern European countries that includes Norway and aims to complement NATO through closer military cooperation, including joint naval forces.
Is NATO Falling Behind?
A military exercise off the Portuguese coast in March suggested that drones are reshaping more than just land warfare. During the exercise, Ukrainian naval drones highlighted the vulnerability of large modern warships in NATO's fleet and the Alliance's lack of preparedness for emerging military threats.
“The era of large military machines is coming to an end; the future belongs to drones – in all domains,” commented Lieutenant Colonel Maxym Zhorin of Ukraine's elite 3rd Army Corps after the exercise. While NATO countries are capable of producing thousands of drones each year, Ukraine is capable of producing several million drones annually.
In mid-April – just as it had during the summer of 2025 – the Ukrainian 3rd Army Corps captured a Russian position without deploying any soldiers in direct combat. Instead, Ukrainian forces relied entirely on robots and drones, a feat the article says Russian forces have yet to achieve during the war.
A People’s Favorite
Alongside 3rd Army Corps commander Andriy Biletsky and Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) and a senior official in the Presidential Office, Zaluzhnyi remains one of the country's most popular military figures.
If presidential elections had been held in spring 2025, Zaluzhnyi would most likely have won them. Despite his occasional high-profile statements, however, the general's popularity has not increased significantly, largely because he is stationed outside Ukraine.
The Ukrainska Pravda news portal, citing unnamed sources, reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had spoken about the need to “avoid the risks that a confrontation between Zelensky and Zaluzhnyi would entail”. He reportedly recognizes that Zaluzhnyi – like Budanov – would be a formidable challenger.
