I remember that thread (I started following you on Twitter because of it), and my favourite part remains at 3/19 for I think it identifies Ukraine’s key strategic advantage: motivation.
“[Ukrainians are] fighting hard for their land, their people and the idea of a free and democratic society. This is important. It is not clear that the Russian soldiers fighting in #Ukraine have a similarly compelling sense of purpose.”
I think the war has shown thus far that Ukraine’s sense of purpose you identified has only grown stronger as the consequences of Russian rule are revealed with every atrocity.
Russia on the other hand, where it has attempted to motivate its forces at all, can only advance weak and inconsistent rationalizations of why it’s fighting in the Ukraine.
This matters. It mattered then. It matters now. And it will matter until the war ends, as it eventually will, with the full restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Thanks for writing. I enjoyed your book and I look forward to your periodic updates, for they are always insightful.
So impressive that you foresaw all of this that early in the war.
I went to look-up a timeline of where Russia was with its invasion when you tweeted that original thread (because it all runs together in my mind) and Russia was NOT in the dumpster-fire stage of over-extension of its push toward Kyiv. (Nor were they already being pushed back.)
You were QUITE perceptive to have seen what many (most?) still did not see at that time. And to save someone from clicking the link below, it wasn't until April -- well over a month after you wrote that original thread -- that Ukraine began to seriously push back the Russian column/thrust toward Kyiv.
I remember that thread (I started following you on Twitter because of it), and my favourite part remains at 3/19 for I think it identifies Ukraine’s key strategic advantage: motivation.
“[Ukrainians are] fighting hard for their land, their people and the idea of a free and democratic society. This is important. It is not clear that the Russian soldiers fighting in #Ukraine have a similarly compelling sense of purpose.”
I think the war has shown thus far that Ukraine’s sense of purpose you identified has only grown stronger as the consequences of Russian rule are revealed with every atrocity.
Russia on the other hand, where it has attempted to motivate its forces at all, can only advance weak and inconsistent rationalizations of why it’s fighting in the Ukraine.
This matters. It mattered then. It matters now. And it will matter until the war ends, as it eventually will, with the full restoration of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Thanks for writing. I enjoyed your book and I look forward to your periodic updates, for they are always insightful.
So impressive that you foresaw all of this that early in the war.
I went to look-up a timeline of where Russia was with its invasion when you tweeted that original thread (because it all runs together in my mind) and Russia was NOT in the dumpster-fire stage of over-extension of its push toward Kyiv. (Nor were they already being pushed back.)
You were QUITE perceptive to have seen what many (most?) still did not see at that time. And to save someone from clicking the link below, it wasn't until April -- well over a month after you wrote that original thread -- that Ukraine began to seriously push back the Russian column/thrust toward Kyiv.
Well done, General.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2022_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine