The war in Ukraine has provided its fair share of surprises. The Ukrainian army’s gritty resistance continues to surpass the expectations of military analysts in the West. The Russian army, which seemed so formidable on paper, has turned out to be a clunky, ineffective colossus with poor leadership at the top and little motivation at the bottom, its troops serving as cannon fodder in the Donbas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, once thought of as a master strategist and savvy opportunist, has exposed himself as a mere mortal whose obsession with personal glory has both degraded his country’s geopolitical position—to take one example, NATO will soon have two additional members, one of which, Finland, shares a long border with Russia—and harmed its future prospects.
