The thinking way to win a war

Newsroom

15 hours ago

It was supposed to be over by now, a three-day (at the most) blitz by Russia on its many-times smaller neighbour, an ego-boosting win for Vladimir Putin.
But the war is now in its fourth year, with Russia occupying just under a fifth of Ukraine, and some out-of-the-box thinking from Ukrainians boosting morale in the beleaguered country.
Today on The Detail, we talk about Operation Spiderweb, which destroyed planes deep into Russian territory; Russian retaliation; financing a conflict and who's winning, with the Telegraph's associate editor of defence Dom Nicholls.
He reports every weekday for the Telegraph's award-winning podcast Ukraine: The Latest – and he says there's always plenty to say.
'There's so much going on.
'There's always something happening on the battlefield but as we've discovered over the last three years of doing this, there's just a great appetite around the world to learn about Ukraine's history, the culture, the people, the food, the politics. So we come at it from all angles.'
Nicholls is former British Army and the podcast team makes sure they visit Ukraine at least three times a year, so they're not just sitting back and analysing from afar.
So, who is winning?
'In the dark days of February/March 2022, just Ukraine existing as a sovereign entity, with an effective government still in power, a president that's alive, and a society that's supportive of the war effort … I think many people at the time would have said 'right, let's have that, that's what we want'. Well that's kind of where we are now.
'Currently about 19 percent of the country's held by Russia, and President Zelensky's been very clear that they're never just going to accept the loss of [those] eastern regions. So does that mean that they're losing?
'Well look at it the other way. Putin thought that he was going to be in Kyiv in days, weeks at most. By no means has he achieved his aims there. He's almost bankrupted his country, he's wiped out a generation of people who can no longer work in the factories of Russia and generate the income, so the question is about, 'Is this a war or is this the war?'
'Is this the war you break your country over to win? That question is now being pushed in the face of Vladimir Putin.
'If the answer's no … you might want to think twice about what's happening now, three years into this thing.
'You can see both sides are winning, and both sides are losing as well.'
Also on The Detail, Nicholls talks about the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian mindsets when it comes to new ideas and carrying them out, as well as the effect that US President Donald Trump's attitude could have on the outcome of the war.
Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.
You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.