Longer Reads

Jul 24, 2026 Chrystia Freeland

There are several reasons why Ukraine has been able to stymie its much larger aggressor. For the world’s democracies, the most important lesson to draw from Ukrainians' doggedness and brilliant innovations and improvisations may be that we should not be so surprised.

OXFORD—The changing face of the battle for Ukraine has taken much of the world by surprise, both in terms of the horrific scale of casualties that Russia is enduring—nearly 40,000 last month, according to Ukrainian officials—and the dynamism and sheer chutzpah that has characterized Ukraine’s war effort.