General Valerii Zaluzhny at the Ukrainian stand in London: I’m working on a new book about the war

Ambassador of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhny, visited the Ukrainian stand at the London Book Fair and announced his new book about the full-scale invasion.

The newly appointed Director of the London Book Fair Adam Ridgway came to meet with Zaluzhny, and expressed his support for Ukraine.

“It is important to have a Ukrainian stand here, not only for Ukraine, but also for the London Book Fair itself. Ukraine has a long and rich history and exceptionally creative literature. This event is about promoting creative writing from all over the world and for the whole world. Ukraine should be present here,” Ridgway said.

Having reviewed the new items at the stand, with books about the war naturally drawing the most attention, including works by former soldiers and comrades, as well as analytical and artistic reflections, Zaluzhny held his first signing session and discussed writing “My War.”

“People who haven’t read my book think it’s a memoir. It is not. I will never write a memoir. This book was classified as a novel, and that’s what it is. The central theme is how a dream turns into an action plan, and one has to fight their own fears, people and circumstances that stand in the way. All this combined to create ‘My War’,” Zaluzhny commented.

After the book signing session, Zaluzhny stayed for a meeting with publishers to discuss his role in promoting cultural diplomacy, explore its opportunities in London, and explain how he manages to navigate all challenges of intercultural communication.

In addition, Zaluzhny announced the release of new books. One of these is a novel based on real-life events about 13 episodes of the full-scale invasion.

“I write about the main events; why they happened and how I felt back then. Few people know that Kyiv stood firm not because of a ‘party leader,’ but because Chernihiv was bleeding, because the road stretch between Kyiv and Zhytomyr was covered in blood. I described this in my book,” Zaluzhny added.

The book is scheduled to be completed in the fall.

Zaluzhny chose a selection of books by the publishers presented at the fair, including “Words and Bullets” by Nataliia Kornienko released by Vivat in cooperation with PEN Ukraine, “Strategy of Confrontation” by Yevhen Silkin, published by the Summit Knyha, and ‘The Factory’ by Ihor Mysiak, published by Tempora. In addition, he received a British edition of “Looking at Women, Looking at War” by Victoria Amelina published by Harper Collins. 

Zaluzhny’s book, set to be published in the future, aroused great interest among foreign agents and visitors.

The Ukrainian stand in London opened on March 11 and was organized by the Ukrainian Book Institute.

As reported earlier, in December 2024, the Babylon Library publishing house (Ukraine) released an autobiographical book by Zaluzhny. On the first day, readers ordered 4,000 copies of the book.

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Image: Press Center of the Embassy of Ukraine to the United Kingdom, Oleksii Zaitsev

Copy editing: Joy Tataryn