Battles already won
Ukraine has secured several significant victories since Russia’s full-scale invasion last year
Nearly two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war’s end seems nowhere in sight. Nonetheless, Ukraine has already won numerous important battles, many of which we began fighting long before Russia’s latest assault on our country. These victories will, I am certain, help to ensure our final victory in this vile and violent war.
Ever since we regained our independence in 1991, Ukrainians have struggled to be seen as part of Europe. Today, however, no one thinks of Ukraine as some no man’s land linking Russia and the West. And only the most delusional of Russians still imagines that Ukrainians will ever again see their country as part of some “Russkiy mir” (Russian world) — a fever dream of Vladimir Putin that apparently contributed to his decision to launch a war of aggression against us.
Instead, it is now clear to the entire world that Ukraine is in the West and of the West — as European as France, Italy, Germany, or anyone else. Our core values are Western values: liberty, democracy, and the rule of law. And our membership in the premier European and Western institutions — the European Union and NATO — await only our inevitable triumph over the Russian invaders.
The second long-running battle in which Ukraine can now declare victory is internal. Since regaining our independence three decades ago, the Ukrainian people have twice needed to rise up to overthrow dictatorial regimes that gained power by applying the old divide-and-rule principle. The divisions they exploited, cynically and ruthlessly, were those between our country’s west and east, between its Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking communities.
Russia undoubtedly hoped to take advantage of precisely these divisions, in both invading and occupying our country. A defeated, disunited people would be easier to govern. But virtually all Ukrainians now understand the dangers to our very existence that superficial antagonisms pose.
At a time when much of Ukraine’s east is living under the Kremlin’s boot, it is clearer than ever that only a fully united and sovereign Ukraine can provide and safeguard our people’s freedom.
Ukrainians’ sense of shared purpose has unleashed not only our courage and fighting spirit, but also our talent and innovative capabilities.
When the war began, Russia’s military expenditure was nearly 10 times higher than ours. Ukraine’s only hope of levelling the battlefield was to leverage our citizens’ creativity. Our achievements on this front have astonished the Russians and our friends in NATO alike.
Ukrainian innovations, developed largely through public-private partnerships, have not only changed the nature of the war; they have been remarkably cost-effective. For example, commercial drones have enabled Ukraine to engage in effective and relatively inexpensive reconnaissance along an almost 1,000-kilometre front line — something Russia’s forces never expected. According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Ukraine’s “drone swarms” will “change combat dramatically.”
In order to ensure that Ukraine can continue to make the most of this innovation, the Ukrainian General Staff, the State Special Communications Service, the Ministry of Digital Transformation, and the Defense Ministry have launched the Army of Drones project, which enables people around the world to contribute to the cause. With thousands of drones destroyed every month, these donations are enabling our military to replenish supplies quickly.
Our innovative use of commercial technologies has also cost Russia in the Black Sea. After Ukraine destroyed Russian ships using traditional anti-ship missiles, Russia’s navy began to operate farther from shore. But Ukraine has taken the fight to Russia, by converting ordinary jet skis into a fleet of explosive-packed, ship-killing maritime drones.
Today, it is Ukraine, using the tremendous ingenuity and resourcefulness of its citizens, that is leading the way in fortifying the arsenal that is defending democracy.
