STRATEGYPAGE: Winning: The Ukrainian Reality Check:

Ukraine is working its way through its list of Western weapons it needs the most to defeat the Russian invaders as quickly as possible and end the Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians and economic targets. The list makes sense to Western military leaders, who see fulfilling this list as worth the cost because it will shut down Russian territorial annexation plans for some time to come and cause the fall of Russia’s current Neo-Soviet government. Western politicians question the high economic cost of fulfilling this list as well as the risks of Russia using nuclear or chemical weapons.

For the Chinese, it puts the actual effectiveness of modern military power into perspective. Defeat of the Russians is also depriving China of what seemed to be a powerful military partner and turns Russia into a paranoid (about China) nuclear armed dependent state, much like North Korea. Ukrainians are fighting for their existence as a nation and that is a very big deal for Ukrainians. Russia is fighting to recreate a Russian empire that most Russians don’t see as essential to the existence of Russia as a nation. . . .

Ukraine needs to win this war as soon as possible because the Russians are increasingly targeting Ukrainian civilians as well as economic targets. Russia responded to the recent use of GMLRS guided rockets on ammo and fuel storage sites by replacing some of the lost sites with ones built in residential areas. Russia also parked a large number next to a Ukrainian nuclear power plant to discourage Ukrainian attack on them. Ukraine tries to evacuate civilians from any territory they have to retreat from and assist getting civilians out of Russian occupied territory. Ukrainian civilians do not quietly accept being used as human shields and efforts to implement this practice on a large scale will result in more Russian war crimes against civilians. This increases Ukrainian urgency to win the war and motivates more Russian civilians to increase their opposition to the war started by their Stalinist leader. . . .

Ukraine also needs massive amounts of economic aid to keep its troops and civilian population supplied with food, fuel and shelter. Russian attacks on railroads, power plants and economic targets in general have put a huge burden on the Ukrainian economy. The Russian attacks on Ukrainian agriculture and transport have caused a food shortage worldwide that means higher food prices for many nations that cannot afford it.

A smarter U.S. diplomacy would be rallying those nations against Russia.