The Prussian military strategist Carl von Clausewitz said, “Everything takes a different shape when we pass from abstractions to reality.”
In the abstract, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine appeared to be no contest. Russia has almost 900,000 active military personnel, about five times the size of the Ukrainian military. Russia has an overwhelming advantage in attack aircraft, helicopters and tanks.
But the reality is that Ukraine is mounting a valiant defense. Multiple reports suggest Russian President Vladimir Putin is frustrated with the pace of the invasion.
The stiff and determined resistance of the Ukrainians starts at the top. President Volodymyr Zelensky had offers to be whisked out the country to safety. His response was one for the ages: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”
The world is answering the call with military weaponry and supplies. The United States provided $1 billion in military assistance over the last year including anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and President Biden is asking Congress for $6.4 billion in additional aid.
Countries are taking steps to punish Russia by isolating its banking industry and limiting trade. Those steps have caused a panic in Russia where its stock market closed for a second day, and the ruble crashed.
Countries are blocking Russian planes from their air space. Sports teams are canceling events scheduled in Russia. Even historically neutral Switzerland said it will adopt European Union sanctions against Russia.
The state controlled Russian media are pumping out propaganda to try to justify the invasion, but the Russian people are skeptical. The Associated Press has reported anti-war protests “from Moscow to Siberia… despite the arrests of hundreds of protesters each day by police.”
Russian soldiers, who believed they were simply undergoing military exercises near the Ukrainian border, must wonder about the mission—invading a sovereign neighboring nation and firing on civilians.
The Ukrainian military has the support of countless civilians who have taken up arms in defense of their homeland.
“When I heard the explosions I decided that I am ready,” Olena Sokolan, a business manager who received a rifle to help defend the capital of Kyiv, told the New York Times. “I am an adult woman, I am healthy and it’s my responsibility.”
The courage of Sokolan and thousands like her is inspiring, and a sharp contrast to the warped thinking of Putin. His grandiose idea of reconstructing the old Soviet Union by triggering a “false flag” invasion of a sovereign nation is demented retrograde thinking of a ruthless autocrat from his days as a KGB spy during the Cold War.
It is unclear how long Ukraine can hold out. No country, the United States included, is willing to send troops and the valiant Ukrainian defenders may eventually be overwhelmed. Regardless of the outcome, Putin must pay.
Von Clausewitz also said, “Two qualities are indispensable: first, an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmerings of the inner light which leads to truth; and second, the courage to follow this faint light wherever it may lead.”
That light now comes from the Ukrainian people, and it clearly leads the way forward for all to follow out from Putin’s darkness.
(Correction: An earlier version of the commentary stated incorrectly that Ukrainians speak Russian. They do not; They speak their own unique language. HK)