The article describes the transformation of northern Kyiv's battlefield landscape post-Russian retreat, where scenes of destruction from 2022 still linger. Despite initial projections of a swift Ukrainian defeat, Russia's military underperformed, revealing flaws in its structure, which prioritized pleasing leadership over operational effectiveness. This miscalculation led Ukraine to resist far more robustly than anticipated. The piece reflects on how such intelligence failures, led by President Putin's distorted perception of Ukraine, culminated in Russia's catastrophic military outcome.
When I was there in 2023, the battlefield had been largely cleaned up, and the villages were coming back to life, but the signs of mortal struggle were everywhere.
This was not supposed to happen. The Russian military had spent enormous sums modernizing its forces... The Ukrainian military was supposed to be outmatched and outgunned.
One lesson is clear: A military and intelligence apparatus organized around pleasing the boss is ripe for catastrophic failure.
Putin walked into war thinking that Ukraine was more fragile than it really was... but that's what happens when a national security establishment prioritizes political loyalty over professional excellence.
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