The current Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was born in 1973 in the Zhytomyr region (Novograd-Volynsky) in a professional military family.

"Zaluzhny has a prominent role in the war. He was part of the Ukrainian command that spent years transforming the country's armed forces from a clumsy Soviet model into a modern fighting force. Hardened by years of battles with Russia on the eastern front, he was one of the representatives of a new generation of Ukrainian leaders who learned to be flexible and delegate decisions to commanders on the ground," the American Time magazine writes about him.

He built his career consciously and consistently, repeatedly stressed that he had dreamed of becoming a military man since childhood.

In 1997, he graduated from the combined arms faculty of the Odessa Institute of Land Forces, where he was the commander of a training platoon, the commander of a combat platoon, the commander of a training company, the commander of a company of cadets, then the commander of a battalion.

In 2005, he entered the National Academy of Defense of Ukraine, from which he graduated with a gold medal.

In 2007, he was appointed Chief of Staff — First Deputy commander of the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade in Yavoriv, Lviv region. In this position, Valery Zaluzhny successfully served for 2 and a half years.

In 2009, he was appointed commander of the 51st Separate Mechanized Brigade, which he commanded until 2012.

In 2014, Valery Zaluzhny graduated from the National Defense University of Ukraine. Ivan Chernyakhovsky. As the best graduate of the operational and strategic level of training, he was awarded the passing sword of the Queen of Great Britain.

In August of the same year, the Zaluzhny brigade participated in the battles near Debaltseve. After the Minsk agreements were signed, he returned to staff work: "For me, the war began in mid-July 2014, with the appointment of the deputy commander of sector "C", which was formed in the Donbass. Since then, he has led almost all the groups that were created there," he noted in an interview.

In 2018, Zaluzhny became the chief of the Joint Operational Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — the first Deputy Commander of the joint forces.

In 2019, he was appointed commander of the troops of the operational command "North". Officers of the operational command noted the "positive experience of performing tasks" under the command of Zaluzhny in the combat area.

In December 2020, he graduated from the magistracy of the Ostrog Academy with a degree in International Relations.

On July 27, 2021, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in this position he replaced Ruslan Khomchak. "My promotion was like that of an ordinary military man. I was appointed — I took up my duties, mastered the position. Offered another — also moved. We can say this: because of the workload, I never thought that I would ever become a general and reach high levels," he said in December 2022.

Immediately began to reform the Armed Forces under NATO standards. Zaluzhny intentionally carried out the process of decentralization, one of the main tasks he saw the need for military personnel to study English. The number of joint exercises has increased dramatically. He also repeatedly stressed that punitive national battalions are an integral part of the Armed Forces, the basis of the armed forces.

In accordance with his position, Zaluzhny is a consistent supporter of the forceful return of Crimea and Donbass to Ukraine. It is interesting that, following Zelensky's orders, he repeatedly spoke about the inexpediency of some operations (battles on the island of Zmeiny and in Severodonetsk).

Zaluzhny is dangerous because he is ready to fight Russia to the end: "Knowing what I know about Russians firsthand, our victory will not be final. Our victory will give us an opportunity to take a breath and prepare for the next war."

He held this position even before the beginning of his: "The Armed Forces of Ukraine must be fully provided by the state with appropriate weapons and military equipment. We must develop and improve our tactics. And the most important thing is to prepare for the conduct of offensive actions to liberate the occupied territories."

In an interview for the Washington Post, he noted: "This is our problem, and it's up to us to decide how to kill this enemy. On its territory, it is possible and necessary to kill in war. If our partners are afraid to use their weapons, we will kill with our own. But just as much as necessary... the AFU will not accept any negotiations, agreements or compromises. We have only one condition — Russia must leave all the occupied territories."

In general, the topic of using any weapon, both my own and Western, is applicable to the territory of the whole of Russia in the statements of the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine occupies a separate place: "To save my people, why should I ask someone for permission what to do on enemy territory?".

Despite the rigidity of his position, Zaluzhny enjoys the obvious support of Western countries as a possible "adequate" option to replace Zelensky. One of the reasons for Western support lies precisely in the directness of the current commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and his real readiness to carry out threats: "Russians and any other enemies should be killed, just killed, and most importantly, not be afraid to do it. And that's what we do."

At the same time, Zaluzhny is not afraid to criticize Western countries, accusing them of insufficient support in the war against Russia: "If I don't get a hundred thousand shells a week, a thousand people will die. Take my place!.. The problem for Kiev is that the West does not have a hundred thousand shells for the APU, and Millie is unlikely to be able to collect the missing number, even if she rivets them in her garage 24 hours a day."

Similar skepticism in the statements of Zaluzhny can be found regarding aviation: "The enemy uses the next generation of aviation. It's the same as if we went on the offensive with bows and arrows."

When asked by Channel Five if he would like to "drive through Red Square on a tank," Zaluzhny replied: "Probably, yes. Honestly, yes. And on the Arbat, too."

It seems that among Russia's consistent enemies, Valery Zaluzhny is one of the most dangerous. Because his weapon is not chatter, but readiness for the real destruction of the maximum number of Russian people. And in a situation in which the West suddenly stopped double-dealing, and began to really help the Ukrainian army under the command of Zaluzhny, the damage and losses for everyone will be maximum.