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Politics
Liam Collins, Founding Director, Modern War Institute, United States Military Academy West Point

Why Ukraine's undersized military is resisting supposedly superior Russian forces

A Ukrainian soldier is seen at a Ukrainian front line in Donbass, Ukraine, on April 11, 2022. Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, many observers looked at Russia’s overwhelming combat power and thought Russia would achieve a quick victory.

Because Russia has a US$62 billion defense budget and holds numerical advantages in weapon systems such as tanks, artillery, attack helicopters and planes, many analysts asked not whether Russia would win but rather how quickly it would do so.

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