After more than six months of war that some were thinking was going to enter a stalemate, Ukraine flipped the tables on Russia. Ukrainian forces are driving Russians back in multiple areas, although this is a hard slog.
Ukraine has several distinct advantages in this war.
- Russians don’t really know why they are in Ukraine. Ukrainians know why they are fighting. The ones on the front lines certainly do and pretty much every other Ukrainian does as well. Their homes have been attacked, children murdered, and their economy wrecked by a madman. The will to fight is critically important.
- The west’s support of Ukraine has enabled it to hold Russia off while building the capacity to defeat the invasion. We’ve spent billions – thanks to you, American, British, Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Polish, Italian, Pakistani, Czech and other tax payers. This has been an investment worth every penny, as the West’s total commitment has shown other would-be territory grabbers (looking at you China) that far from being the “decadent west” we are guarantors of peoples’ right to self determine their government. (sure we get this wrong far too often, but on balance we’re mostly on the right side.)
- Russia’s kleptocracy (a state ruled by thieves) has ensured their armed forces have crappy, outdated, and poorly maintained equipment. Sure they have far more cannons and tanks and planes and rockets – but a lot of those don’t work, are worn out or hopelessly obsolete – or their soldiers don’t know how to use them effectively.
- Russia’s army has a fundamental flaw – they can’t get the food fuel ammunition and spare parts to where it’s needed. (posted on this way back in March with lots of details)
If anything it has gotten worse. The HIMARS rocket systems and other really good artillery we’ve sent Ukraine are destroying ammunition and fuel dumps, blowing up communications centers, and killing dozens of high-ranking colonels and generals, de-capitating Russia’s army just when it is being attacked.
That’s enough of the cheerleading.
The awful truth is Ukraines’ military is losing hundreds of soldiers each week – far less than Russian losses, but devastating nonetheless. I cannot imagine how painful this is to each and every family that’s lost members due to Russian aggression; killed in an apartment building bored by the Russians, blown up by mines near a school, dead in combat or crushed in a shopping mall hit by Russian rockets.
What does this mean for you?
I’m very proud of what we Americans have done and are doing to support Ukraine.
You should be too.
Yes fuel and food prices are higher – make no mistake, that’s due to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.