There’s a lot of blather about how Western weapons have turned the tide in Ukraine. I have to agree they’ve been darn effective. Hand held tank killers, better artillery, and precision munitions have turned the tide.
That’s only part of the story.
If the west had done nothing the Ukrainians would still be fighting. Remember, when the invasion started they were busy building Molotov cocktails -as they didn’t have much else. The fight was going to go on due to the will of the people. The fight might have been partisans and slit throats in the dark at this point, but the resistance would have gone on.
Politically Russia lost the war when NATO stood firm. Finland really put the nail in the coffin on that one. Russia did not want NATO on the their border and Finland is right there. Russia never did very well against Finland when it was alone. Check out the History of the Winter War. With the might of NATO behind them it’s all over.
The weapons sent to Ukraine have been put to good use. As soon as better weapons were in their hands they went on the offensive. Given the tools Ukrainians certainly know what to do with them.
However, it’s not just the weapons. It’s the will of a nation to stay independent. When the US left Afghanistan their government had much better weapons than the Taliban. What they didn’t have was the will to use them. Afghanistan is not Ukraine. In their History they were almost never governed by a central government. Tribal ties are more important.
The West should keep supplying Ukraine with the weapons they need. Like their President said, he didn’t need a ride, he needed ammunition. Right now the Russians don’t need ammunition., they need a ride.
-Sixbears
