In the beginning of the war, most of the pro-Russian media and politicians predicted Kyiv would’ve collapsed within days, even hours. A significant number of people believed it. The naïve surrendering mentality among some of those people can be understandable; people never saw a resistance like Ukraine from any part of the world in recent history. Specially in this century. The Georgia crisis shows us Russia’s imperialistic ambitions and how brutally they can have destroyed resistance against their imperialism. We saw what happened in Chechnya. It took only a few months to turn Grozny into ashes. Countries fell like dominoes. Russia needed this phenomenon in eastern Europe as well: invade Ukraine, separate the nation, and install a puppet regime. Then the entire eastern Europe would fall one by one to the grip of Russia. That was the calculation. However, Ukraine shown to Russia the dangers of miscalculation. Putin, portrayed as always accurate and stable by his propaganda machine, was dead wrong about Ukraine and the West. It’s been more than two years, and the people of Ukraine still stand up and hold the line against Russian invaders.
From Molotov cocktail to Javelins, From Stingers to HIMARS from Bayraktar drones to Storm shadow and ATACMS missiles, Ukraine started one of the most expanded, bravest and resilient resistance in the modern history, well organized Ukraine holds their line against the all odds. They started resistance with all forms, In the battle field, in Information warfare, in UN, and across world, as military missions and as protests. When it comes to war Not just foreign weapons, but also they showed to be so good at local weapon productions. With sea drones and anti-ship missiles (local productions) they were able to turn the tide in the sea. Last month they were able to test their own ballistic missile. Also new innovations, such as “Palianytsia” rocket drones which can hit deep into Russian territory. Ukraine people able to use their creativity in this entire time. For protests, for survive, and for attack their enemies. Within first few months of the war, it was clear this is not going to be another Syria, or Chechnya. The message from the resistance was clear. Bullies will no longer be tolerated.
From the middle of 2023 to early 2024, the Russia-Ukraine war entered it’s one of the most difficult phases. In the absence of significant change on the war front, Russian propaganda again indicated that Ukraine would be defeated, and it’s just a matter of time. These messages
willfully ignored the fact that Ukraine was holding the war front and not backing down, facing the Russian war machine with strength. When Russia was able to capture some small pieces of land, it was touted as a huge military victory, and the psychological war has been launched more fiercely than ever in the past to break the morale of Ukraine as well as its allies in the free world. Actually, though, for both sides there were no significant gains or losses during that period.
What we should understand in this kind of situation is that not everything goes our way during a war. The most important thing is to stay strong in the most difficult moments until victory. As Churchill said, “victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be.”.
The United Kingdom had a similar difficult time during the Second World War. At that time, many people thought that it was impossible even to retreat from Dunkirk and bring soldiers to England. It was proposed that England should negotiate with Germany. Despite all that, Winston Churchill provided the necessary leadership to face the challenge. The United Kingdom made the brightest comeback since the end of the darkest hour. They ended the battle victoriously.
Ukraine has now passed most of this difficult phase. In a war, the most important thing for the final result is to overcome the worst situation and be resilient to the damage caused at that time. Ukraine has overcome both of these challenges so far.
What Ukraine needed was a comeback. A momentum. Already, Ukraine units started to hold Russian offensives and push them harder New equipment pledged by the US and Europe is now reaching the front lines. F-16s, more long-range missiles, and other small and heavy weapons are now entering the war. Now the war is about to get even more dangerous level. This is not merely a territorial dispute. It’s a question of Russia’s legacy and Ukraine’s glory. Russia isn’t going to take it easy. Ukraine will not give up either. Russia has already launched a counteroffensive in Kursk. Ukraine is preparing for a new wave of offensives on its front lines.
Free world can effect significant changes to build Ukraine’s momentum. The key here is to provide support at the right time. For example, the Czech Republic’s artillery initiative had a significant impact on the war. They were able to secure nearly a million shells for Ukraine, just when it needed them the most. We saw how few HIMARS made a great impact on warfare. Even a handful of ATACMS gave massive surprise to the Russian invaders. How air defense systems saved thousands of lives. With the resources NATO possesses, they can make a much greater impact on stopping Russian aggression.
This is a unique test for Ukraine and the free world. This is the turning point that will determine how well the free world stands against greater threats. It is a check on the safety of Poland, Slovenia, and the whole of Eastern Europe. A check on Taiwan’s free existence. This is the much-awaited comeback of this century. It’s probably the key to ending World War III before it begins.
Shalitha Bandara Samarakoon
