Oleksiy "Botanik" spent 343 days on the front line without leaving.
Russians attacked on APCs, motorcycles, ATVs and on foot — but his company did not give up a single meter of territory, writes Ukrainska Pravda. 1/
Before the war Oleksiy worked at an employment center in Cherkasy Oblast. He recruited contract soldiers for the army and regularly dealt with military recruitment offices. 2/
One day the recruitment office invited him for coffee and handed him a draft notice. He did not hide.
"I decided to serve my 18 months and look people in the eye without shame." 3/
A cornered Putin is more dangerous than a winning one.
His army is at a standstill in Ukraine. His ally Iran is collapsing. His friend Orban is out. The scariest question now is not whether he loses, but what he does next — David Ignatius, Washington Post. 1/
Ignatius: Putin may already be thinking about the next war — against Europe — even as he slogs ahead in Ukraine.
The window to strike could be closing: before Europe rearms, before Ukraine reaches deeper into Russia, and while Trump treats NATO like a punching bag. 2/
The Russian economy is a mess despite a brief windfall from the oil price spike. NATO forces line up from the White Sea in the Arctic to the Black Sea.
Europe is getting stronger and angrier. Putin sees no path to the decisive victory he craves. 3/
Gen. Petraeus: The US military performed brilliantly in the Gulf. But the real war of the 21st century is happening right now in Ukraine — a war of drones, constant innovation, and near-equal armies — WSJ. 1/
The Gulf was fought under permissive conditions. US and Israeli forces controlled the electromagnetic spectrum. Iran had limited ability to contest operations at scale.
Ukraine is different — drones get jammed, spoofed, destroyed and replaced within days. 2/
Ukraine produces millions of unmanned systems annually. Manufacturers predict seven million units this year. The US will not come anywhere close to that scale. 3/
Ukraine has 900,000 active soldiers. Drones kill and robots advance.
But the most valuable asset on the battlefield is still a human being who is willing to fight, writes Luke McGee in Foreign Policy. 1/
When people saw what unmanned vehicles could achieve, some suggested wars could be fought without personnel. It is a nice idea.
But to hold territory and operate UAVs and ground robots, you need people physically there. 2/
The problem is motivation in practice.
Pavlo Zaichenko, 59th Brigade: “When there is no clear understanding of where one will serve, how the service will look, and how long it will last, this becomes a significant barrier for potential volunteers.” 3/