Thread by @WarintheFuture

Recently, I returned from my third visit to #Ukraine in the past year. The aim of this visit was to speak with senior military and civilian officials about how Ukraine is leveraging many elements of its national power to defend against Russia. 1/20 🧵

2/ Ultimately, I want to use the insights gained on this trip, my previous trips and a variety of other research, to flesh out my hypothesis about a Ukrainian Way of War. During my Ukraine visit, I published a series at Futura Doctrina that contained some initial thoughts.

3/ My first #Ukraine Visit Diary covered some of my initial meetings in #Kyiv.
mickryan.substack.com/p/exploring-th…

4/ My second #Ukraine Visit Diary explored the Battle of Moshchun and how Ukraine had implemented a 21st century version of People’s War.
mickryan.substack.com/p/moshchun-and…

5/ My third entry for my #Ukraine visit diary. In it, I explore some of the important strategic themes that emerged from conversations with senior officials during my visit, and the way ahead for examining the Ukrainian Way of War.
mickryan.substack.com/p/building-a-t…

6/ While in Ukraine, I also published an article for the Sydney Morning Herald. You can read that article at the link. smh.com.au/world/europe/t…

7/ Finally, because of the great response on social media to my ‘morning walk’ photos, I assembled a group of images for a special post at Futura Doctrina.
mickryan.substack.com/p/walking-arou…

8/ I collected a huge amount of material during my visit. And while I have used some of it in these posts, there is much more to come.

9/ The current Ukrainian approach to war has several important themes.

10/ First, Ukraine is fighting the war as a national effort, with an array of military, diplomatic, information, technological and societal means. Importantly, it is a democratic effort and there is interesting civil-military relations studies that could be undertaken.

11/ Despite this effort to leverage all national means, it is far from the ‘anything goes’ approach of Russia. Ukraine is fighting within the laws of war and in accordance with international law. This is important for legitimacy domestically and in the international community.

12/ I also think this ‘just war’ approach is something that has come naturally Ukraine. There appears to be an inherent understanding in their soldiers, generals & society that doing the wrong thing would not only compromise them strategically, it would be a stain on their souls.

13/ Second, Ukraine’s way of war is a unique hybrid of Soviet, Western and Ukrainian cultures, concepts and technologies. There is a fascinating interplay of older Soviet and newer NATO doctrines for training, leadership and operations.

14/ While much has been achieved in the past decade, the full transition from older Soviet ideas remains an incomplete task. And, even with the influx of western equipment, more than 2/3 of their equipment is still legacy Soviet.

15/ Third, innovation and adaptation from the ground up is also a key part of this story. The practical problem solving of Ukrainian soldiers and civil companies has provided a critical edge over the past 18 months.

16/ Much of this is ‘bottom up’, but there are also examples of institutional learning and adaptation where battlefield learning is drawn into training systems. An institutional learning culture - some of it formal, some of it informal - is part of Ukraine’s way of war.

17/ Finally, those leading the Ukrainian war effort are also the result of a hybrid experience background. Many have received training in Soviet military institutions as well as NATO institutions.

18/ But, many military and government leaders have also gained expertise in war from the Russian operations in Crimea and the Donbas since 2014. It is a potent mix, and one that many leaders have used to good effect since the large scale Russian invasion of 2022.

19/ There is much more to this topic than I could ever hope to cover in a single thread. But I hope this provides some useful insights as I continue developing a model of the Ukrainian Way of War. End.

20/ Thank you to the following, whose images and links were used in this thread: @smh @DefenceU @CinC_AFU @ZelenskyyUa @TDF_UA @Militarylandnet