ANALYSIS: Why Ukraine is winning the war
Democracies are much better at fighting wars than authoritarian states. That may explain how Ukraine, with its decentralised, participatory war effort, has an edge over the much larger Russian force
Ukraine’s plucky defence against Russian invasion has been a surprise, but also raised questions: how has a much smaller country managed to hold back Russia, until now considered the world’s second-largest military power?
On paper Russia has formidable advantages — it’s 2½ times larger in population than Ukraine, has nearly nine times its GDP and possesses its own world-class military technologies and defence capabilities. Yet it has struggled against Ukraine’s more nimble forces, which have out-thought and out-fought the lumbering Russian military at every turn and, remarkably, seem to be turning back the tide. Why and how?..
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