Zaluzhnyi names six critical factors determining victory or defeat for Ukraine

He warned that while Russia failed its initial political goals, a true Ukrainian victory remains precariously out of reach, systematically blocked by domestic resource exhaustion, territorial loss, and crumbling Western solidarity.

"Has Ukraine won? In the sense that Russia did not achieve its goals, yes," Zaluzhnyi wrote.

"But first of all, Russia has not withdrawn from the war and has not admitted defeat. Secondly, Russia has occupied large territories that Ukraine will not be able to reclaim for now. And any peace treaty will be painful on territorial issues. This is obvious."

Thirdly, the ambassador noted that even while dealing devastating blows to the Russian economy, Ukraine remains dependent on financial and technological support and is "accumulating a multitude of internal problems that are becoming increasingly difficult to handle as time goes on."

Zaluzhnyi identified Russia's reliance on exhausting Ukraine both morally and physically as the fourth factor. The former commander-in-chief noted that Russia possesses a larger reserve of resources, its own space capabilities, and outpaces Ukraine in production, particularly of ballistic missiles. According to Zaluzhnyi, it is impossible to manufacture enough air defense systems to counter this.

"Fifthly, whether Ukraine is winning and Russia is losing can be assessed by looking at the level of international support," the ambassador added.

"And it is showing signs of serious weakening due to the U.S. retreat from Ukraine and existing rifts within the European Union. Nice photo ops and various forums create an effect of uniting around Ukraine, but they do not unite Europe at all in the fight against Russia. Meanwhile, the growing demands from our neighbors toward us indicate that not all is well with the future of European security."

According to him, the sixth factor is a war of attrition in which "there will be no winners, only losers."

"This list now includes Russia and Ukraine, which, despite attempts at wishful thinking, have lost more than they have gained. This list will expand," the former commander-in-chief believes.

Zaluzhnyi earlier stated that the massive Russian strike on Kyiv on July 2, which killed 31 people, proves that hopes for a swift end to the war are futile. The former commander-in-chief called for increased pressure on Moscow to make the war too costly for it to continue.