Former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny has said that doubts are growing within Ukrainian society over the direction the country has followed since gaining independence.

According to Zaluzhny, Ukraine is now closer than ever to a point where uncertainty about its future course is spreading through society. His remarks were cited by the Ukrainian outlet NV.

Looking back at the period after 1991, Zaluzhny argued that Ukraine’s development took the wrong path. In his view, instead of building a fully functioning national state, the country ended up with a clan-based oligarchic system that served the interests of particular groups while gradually eroding public trust and social unity.

He believes questions over Ukraine’s future direction will become more frequent as accumulated internal contradictions continue to deepen.

Zaluzhny had previously said that Ukraine had nearly exhausted its available military resources. According to him, in 2026 the Ukrainian military used almost the full range of weapons and equipment available from NATO countries, while Russia managed to develop countermeasures against those systems.

He has also expressed the view that Kiev will never become a member of NATO.