Back to basics: Empower Ukraine, unpower Russia
marianna.liana…
Tue, 02/24/2026 – 09:11
6 minutes
The imperial war that Russia launched in 2022 has exacted a heavy toll in blood and treasure. Russia has lost up to 1.2 million troops to date, as well as tens of thousands of armoured vehicles. The war is draining around 5% of Russia’s GDP per year, seriously weakening its economy. Having underestimated Ukrainians’ resolve to defend their country, and having prepared its invasion poorly as a result, Russia later shifted its main offensive to the Donbas, only to become mired in a protracted war of attrition. Ukraine continues to hold the line, but it lacks the capacity to recover and liberate occupied territories. Instead, it seeks to inflict severe losses on Russia, which continues to sustain heavy casualties in exchange for slow and strategically insignificant gains.
Russia has adapted and innovated militarily. It may currently have drone superiority. But it has failed to achieve victory on the battlefield and is therefore shifting the conflict to the diplomatic and hybrid …read more
