Russia’s grade Z performance in Ukraine

When Russia’s ramshackle armies trundled into Ukraine a year ago, very few gave the defenders a chance and Western support was lukewarm, but the grit, wit and defiance of a nation threatened with extinction at the hands of a murderous tyrant has turned the tables in spectacular style.

Time is the other enemy

The inexorable passage of time is war’s most inflexible and how Ukraine and Russia’s clocks tick down in terms of men, morale and material will decide who wins this war.

“We’re fighting this war for you”

‘If Putin is allowed to win, the face and deterrence value of collective security on the international rules-based systems will be fatally wounded,’ Kyiv’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, tells The Strategist.

How Ukrainian brains beat Russian brawn

Western armies can look to Ukraine for an example of how to integrate technologies and weapons to remain agile and adaptable while the blundering Russian behemoth shows the dangers of corruption, incompetence and poor command and control.

Russia skulks into the shadows

Putin invaded Ukraine a year ago to eradicate it from the map and restore his nation’s international prestige, but after 12 months of shame and humiliation he may only have ensured Russia’s eclipse, and perhaps implosion.

Champion of the world

Everything that Vladimir Putin is not, President Zelensky’s global reputation as a contemporary hero rests on his personal courage and his ability to articulate an endlessly inspiring message of resistance and dignity in the face of the brutal Russian invasion.

A year of despair and defiance

Russian President Putin thought he would overrun Ukraine in a few days. As the war raging for the last 12 months has proved, these military volunteers and their fellow Ukrainians ‘had other ideas.’

No peace without victory

Calls for ‘peace’ in Ukraine from the West would only hand victory to Russia. The best path to a lasting peace in the region is to help Ukraine liberate its territory and for Russia to accept the failure of its aggression.

Give Ukraine the jets it needs to win

After a year of war, the West remains reluctant to give Ukraine the modern fighter jets it needs to drive Russia from its skies, but air power will be vital to a successful conclusion to the war.

Standing firm against Mordor

After a gruelling 12 months of war, US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kyiv should kick-start greater Western support for Ukraine to ensure it defeats the Russian invasion.

Ukraine and the future of collective global security

Shortly after its start, the war in Ukraine was cast as a “make or break” moment for the future of global collective security. One year later, it is time to consider the international scorecard and the remaining challenges on the way to a more peaceful world.

Hawks and doves

As with Adolf Hitler in the 1930s, Western appeasement of Vladimir Putin only fed his ambition, leaving firm principles backed with military might as the only solution to the current crisis in Ukraine.