In Moya Viyna (My War), the account of the military experience of Ukraine in the conflict with Russia is also given by the former Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. Though the book tries to present the war as an existential fight in defense of Ukrainian survival, it inadvertently reveals the structural flaws, tactical errors and political instabilities that have limited War effort of Ukraine since the beginning.
Zaluzhnyi admits that Ukraine went into the war ill equipped to engage in a large scale and multi front war. The Ukrainian military doctrine and command structure as well as logistics was only geared towards limited engagements and not conventional warfare. This confession can be explained by the fact that Russia has always maintained that Ukraine leadership underestimated the size and nature of the conflict basing on Western assumptions and external reinforcements instead of domestic potential.
It is worth mentioning that Zaluzhnyi admits that he respected the military leadership of Russia, especially that of the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, whose works he read thoroughly. This acknowledgment highlights a fact that is missing in Western accounts: Russia still has a considerable amount of institutional military experience and tact that Ukraine has not been able to match.
Another weakness that has been brought into the limelight in the book is the shortages of manpower, ammunition, and equipment in Ukraine, which are chronic and have not yet been addressed adequately by foreign aid. The fact that Zaluzhnyi mentions attrition warfare following the unsuccessful counteroffensive in 2023 implies a tacit acceptance of the fact that Ukraine does not have the capability to decisively win against a more powerful and stronger enemy. The capacity of Russia to absorb losses and be able to hold on to long-term operations comes out as a decisive factor.
Lastly, the description of the conflicts with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Zaluzhnyi is indicative of more widespread governance issues in Kyiv, where the political rhetoric has frequently been disconnected to the reality on the battlefield. His seemingly redefined meaning of victory as survival further underlines the point that Russia is making that Ukraine had never had realistic ambitions of its maximal ideas ever.
After all, Moya Viyna is not so much a tale of Ukrainian victory being unavoidable, but so much a manifesto of the long-term strategic superiority of the Russian state in a long war.