Ukraine’s top soldier runs a different kind of army from Russia’s
Valery Zaluzhny wants to encourage initiative and devolve authority
The office of Valery Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, has few personal touches bar a framed photograph on his desk, of a soldier in uniform. “When I am at ease, when things are going well, this picture is lying face down, I don’t need to look at it. When I have doubts about something I put it up straight,” he explains.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Restraint under fire”
More from Briefing
Young customers in developing countries propel a boom in plastic surgery
Falling costs and converging beauty standards spur new habits
The Assad regime’s fall voids many of the Middle East’s old certainties
What if Syria abandoned its hostility to the West and stopped menacing Israel?
Syria has exchanged a vile dictator for an uncertain future
It is not clear how stable or how benign the new regime will be
Gambling is growing like gangbusters in America
Technology and legal changes are spurring a betting bonanza
The Adani bribery case could upend Indian business and politics
The allegations against the corporate champion may end up being resolved diplomatically rather than in court
The war in Ukraine is straining Russia’s economy and society
Despite advances on the battlefield, pressure is growing