In this classic David vs. Goliath fight, Ukraine will endure against the powerful Russian bear…as long as they keep fighting.
In the early morning of 24 February, Moscow time, Russian land, air, and sea forces from Byelorussia, Crimea, and Donetsk attacked the Ukraine. Russia and the Ukraine were united with Kazakhstan other states in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Existing since the Bolsheviks overthrew Czar Nicholas II in 1917, the USSR defeated Germany on the eastern front in World War II, invaded Hungary and Czechoslovakia, and stood against the Western World in the Cold War. The fall of the USSR in 1991 splintered the former allies and ushered in a political disaster for Russia.
In the war between Russia and the Ukraine, Russia possesses major advantages. Russia is the largest country in the world at 6.6 million square miles, about 1/8th of the world’s land mass, and has a population of 146 million. According to the 2022 military strength ranking from Global Firepower, Russia is behind only the United States in military power, having 1.35 million personnel, 4100 aircraft, and 605 naval vessels.[1] Its per capita gross domestic product is $11,300. Ukraine, by contrast, extends over 233,000 square miles and has a population of 44 million. According to the 2022 military strength ranking from Global Firepower, Ukraine ranks 23 out of 140 nations surveyed. It has 500,000 total military personnel, 318 aircraft, and 38 naval vessels.[2] Its per capita gross domestic product is $3,727.
If Russia has so many advantages, why will Ukraine endure?
Continue reading “Why Ukraine Will Endure”
Mark D. Harris for West Virginia 