| The famous American saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” – meaning when the situation becomes difficult, strong people step up and handle it – is attributed to both John F. Kennedy’s father and the American football coach K. Rockne, while also being popularised by Billy Ocean’s eponymous 1985 song. Speaking of tough guys, it is hard to find a better example than Ukraine’s army Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhnyi. The Ukrainian with possibly the highest popularity rating, even higher than President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zaluzhnyi is credited for having discreetly prepared the Ukrainian army to be able to withstand the Russian invasion and for spearheading modern warfare, dwarfing the Russian advantage in terms of manpower. It is important to note that Zaluzhnyi is a modest person who has not previously sought the media spotlight. However, on 1 November, he made a highly unusual move by warning that the war had reached a stalemate phase in a nine-page article in the Economist. Zaluzhnyi wrote: “The transition of the war to a positional form leads to its prolongation and carries significant risks for both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the state. In addition, it benefits the enemy, who is trying in every possible way to reconstitute and increase its military power.” His article is a remarkable document. We, the broader public, rarely obtain such an insight, with so many details, from a key player on the international scene. | 