As Russian missiles and drones continue to pound Ukrainian cities as the war continues into its fourth year, Maj.-Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy chief of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, has little time for ceremony. He’s seen too much, heard too many lies, and watched too many civilians die to mince words.
“Russia lies, Russia kills, Russia never fulfills the treaties it signs,” he told The Jerusalem Post. “And one more thing – Russia only understands the language of force.”
From his office in Kyiv, Skibitsky’s message is both stark and urgent. Ukraine, he said, is not just defending its own territory but is a forward line in a global battle against a growing axis of authoritarian regimes. Russia’s war against Ukraine, he argued, is not a regional conflict. It is the collapse of a global order.
“We see that Russia has effectively destroyed the world order that existed after World War II,” Skibitsky explained. “This is the largest war in Europe since then, and Moscow started it, and has no intention of ending it.”
The war in Ukraine is being fought on more than one front. There is the visible front – the scorched cities, the tank advances, the drone strikes – but also an invisible one: a war of intelligence, adaptation, and survival. Skibitsky has been at the heart of that second battle.
UKRAINE IS not just defending its own territory, but is a forward line in a global battle against a growing axis, according to Maj.-Gen. Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy chief of Ukraine’s Def...