Good article. There are some inaccuracies and typical cliches but, overall, a solid overview of the Ukrainian military path since 2014. From the catastrophe and humiliation of 2014 to the battlefields of 2022.
foreignpolicy.com
Some quotes:
"...the Ukrainians enjoyed the opportunity to train hard but were teaching U.S. paratroopers, sergeants, and officers more about war than they were learning."
"My assessment—that it was the United States that was unprepared for war with Russia, not Ukraine—was shared internally at this time by junior and mid-level leaders within the U.S. military itself..."
"War helped separate the wheat from the chaff—and made military corruption no longer something that one could turn a blind eye to but a threat to national survival and the survival of one's comrades."
"The general ... attributed some battlefield success to the advantage Ukraine enjoyed from deliberately transitioning authority and trust from officers to NCOs and decentralizing battlefield decision-making."
"Ukraine's military has been a hospitable place for training because its leaders hit on a similar structure and sense of purpose to U.S. and NATO armies organically in 2014-15. If they hadn't, Ukraine would have ceased to exist."
![foreignpolicy.com](/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2022%2F05%2FUKRAINE-TRAINING-ARMY-GettyImages-1396285320.png%3Fw%3D1000&hash=443f5ddc376d90e1719f9a712cf897f5&return_error=1)
Ukraine’s Military Pulled Itself Out of the Ruins of 2014
U.S. training helps but isn’t the main reason for the transformation.
![foreignpolicy.com](/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fforeignpolicy.com%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fforeign-policy-2017%2Fassets%2Fsrc%2Fimages%2Flogos%2Ffavicon-192.png&hash=26ea7e31bfb5157c09e60fc073388cd4&return_error=1)
Some quotes:
"...the Ukrainians enjoyed the opportunity to train hard but were teaching U.S. paratroopers, sergeants, and officers more about war than they were learning."
"My assessment—that it was the United States that was unprepared for war with Russia, not Ukraine—was shared internally at this time by junior and mid-level leaders within the U.S. military itself..."
"War helped separate the wheat from the chaff—and made military corruption no longer something that one could turn a blind eye to but a threat to national survival and the survival of one's comrades."
"The general ... attributed some battlefield success to the advantage Ukraine enjoyed from deliberately transitioning authority and trust from officers to NCOs and decentralizing battlefield decision-making."
"Ukraine's military has been a hospitable place for training because its leaders hit on a similar structure and sense of purpose to U.S. and NATO armies organically in 2014-15. If they hadn't, Ukraine would have ceased to exist."