Commentary
The recent Ukrainian incursion into Russia has shattered the truism that achieving surprise in an offensive in the drone era is impossible and that swift progress cannot be made where extensive fortifications have stabilized the line of battle. It also highlights the errors made by Russia in its aggressive war to suppress Ukraine and the Ukrainians’ remarkable talent for innovation.
The stakes in this war should not be underestimated. Russia sought to undo and reclaim the largest piece of its defeat in the Cold War—the disintegration of the Soviet Union and its unifying authority over various ethnic groups, with Ukraine being the most populous and strategically located republic. Ukraine’s rich defense production capacity and wheat-growing resources further heightened its importance.
The Ukrainians mobilized a larger force than the invading Russians had anticipated, equipped with sophisticated armaments that exceeded expectations. This was seen as an attempt to challenge the West’s Cold War victory and expose the Western Alliance as weak. Ukraine utilized innovative tactics that exposed the vulnerabilities of the Russian army, such as distributing cellphones to prisoners of war and deploying drones to target Russian command groups.
Despite the invasion, Russia has struggled to expand beyond Russian-speaking areas in Ukraine, suffering over 600,000 casualties, a significant portion being fatalities. The Russian army’s lack of recent combat experience was evident in their floundering strategy of attrition. Recent Ukrainian attacks inside Russia and the desertion of mercenary forces highlighted the declining morale of Russian military and national spirit, undermining Putin’s image as a powerful leader.
The ongoing Ukrainian offensive is creating a heroic legacy for independent Ukraine, reminiscent of other nations’ resilience in the face of adversity. As Winston Churchill once said, Ukraine is demonstrating “what free men can do” in the midst of conflict.
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