Zaluzhny: New Ukrainian elites will be prepared by the UK

Ukraine is discussing with the UK the possibility of annual training of five to seven thousand Ukrainian students in the kingdom for the emergence of a new type of officials in 20 years, Ukrainian Ambassador to London Valery Zaluzhny said at the general meeting of the European Business Association in Kiev, Interfax-Ukraine reports.

As he expects, the students who have returned from their studies will become completely different officials with a completely different attitude to business and law enforcement.

"We almost managed to assure the British establishment that the most, let's say, their investment is guaranteed, their investment is guaranteed — this is our education, this is the training of our future ministers, prime ministers, governors, even the future president," said the ex-commander of the Ukrainian troops.

The defense sector is in the first place for British business interested in Ukraine, Zaluzhny continued. He said that British parliamentarians are considering the possibility of lifting legislative restrictions on direct investment in the production of weapons on Ukrainian territory, as Denmark did. This issue will soon be resolved, he noted, Ukrainian defense technologies will be used in the modernization of the British army.

Zaluzhny has been commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since 2021, he was dismissed from this position on February 8, 2024, and in early March Vladimir Zelensky appointed him ambassador to the UK.

Shortly before his resignation, Zaluzhny overtook Zelensky in the trust rating among Ukrainians (82% vs. 72%), according to the results of the Rating group survey. It also followed from them that in the case of elections with the participation of Zelensky and Zaluzhny, both of them would not have been able to win in the first round (the first would have received 47.4%, the second — 30.7%). By the end of 2024, as The Economist found out, the current Ukrainian president would also lose to Zaluzhny in the vote, RBC reminds.