One year of war in Ukraine

Ann Appelbaum: “I think what’s happened is that the Ukrainians have shown, first of all, that their army and their military is much more prepared, psychologically and planning-wise, than anybody anticipated. The country didn’t build a lot of munitions in advance. They were in advance. didn’t fortify their cities. There were things that could have been done in the past, and if you go around Ukraine, you’ll hear people say that. And it would have been better to have broader, broader social preparedness, but the army was ready.”

“And the army has also proven itself to be very creative. Using what tools it has, whether it’s a drone you can buy on the internet and they call it MacGyvering. Fixing them will be able to do other things that they wouldn’t be able to do. They are very creative. They use their weapons well. However, there is no indication of any corruption with the army.

“And the other thing again, if you knew Ukraine, it wouldn’t be surprising, but really, compared to other societies in other times and places, Ukrainian society, the way the spontaneous volunteer groups organized themselves, would help. Armies, or helping refugees, or running cities: people are stepping up to the challenge in really extraordinary ways.”

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