Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former top military commander and current ambassador to the U.K., said Thursday the United States is “destroying” the established world order.
Zaluzhnyi made the comments at a security and defense conference in London, Bloomberg reported, taking aim at President Donald Trump’s “non-recognition” of Russia’s aggression in Europe, a stance he said is tearing at the unity of “the whole western world.”
Zaluzhnyi’s comments come less than a week after Trump’s contentious Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his subsequent pause of military aid to Ukraine. Zelenskyy sought security from future Russian aggression and it was not received well by Trump.
We see that it is not just the axis of evil and Russia trying to revise the world order, but the U.S. is finally destroying this order,” Zaluzhnyi told the conference. “And when those countries of the axis conclude a strategic agreement between themselves, we should have thought maybe this is an attempt to revise the existing world order.”
Further, Zaluzhnyi warned NATO “may cease to exist” as Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Zaluzhnyi called a “war criminal,” could set his sights on Europe.
“It is obvious that Washington’s non-recognition of the Russian Federation’s aggression is also a new challenge — not only for Ukraine, but also for Europe,” he said.
Zelenskyy this week extended an olive branch to Trump, describing last Friday’s blowout as “regrettable” and reaffirmed Ukraine’s willingness to engage in peace talks and sign a minerals agreement. Zelenskyy’s top aide saidWednesday that a high-level meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials is scheduled for the near future.
Zaluzhnyi, who was replaced as commander-in-chief by Zelenskyy in February 2024 after a rift with the Ukrainian president, has been viewed as a potential candidate to supplant Zelenskyy in a future election, Bloomberg reported.
Polls in Ukraine show Zaluzhnyi has 70% support compared to 57% for Zelenskyy, the BBC reported.
