Reading this, I am truly baffled by how underinformed/misinformed Americans (even in the rationalist community) were on eastern Europe. Analysts from central and eastern Europe have now for some time been pointing out that A) Ukrainian military in 2022 is on a whole different level than in 2014. Since the annexation of Crimea and start of civil war in Donbass, Ukrainians were expecting they will have to face Russians directly sooner or later and with the help of NATO have beefed-up it's military significantly. On the other hand the Russian military is base... (read more)
Our track record in recent memory for "supplying weapons and training will make this country/government able to defend itself" is not great; Afghanistan in particular seemed to be seeking a world record on how quick they could fall apart and how limp a defense could be. It's a pleasant surprise to actually be seeing results in Ukraine. One could argue that's not the best comparision to make, but it's undeniably the most salient.
2[anonymous]
Swap out "Ukrainian military" for "Afghan government" and you'll see how it wasn't obvious that Ukraine would put up resistance at all.
7gbear605
A lot of the Ukrainians and Russians I’ve spoken with online also have seemed surprised at how well the Ukrainian army has been holding up, so I’m not sure it’s that baffling.
Reading this, I am truly baffled by how underinformed/misinformed Americans (even in the rationalist community) were on eastern Europe. Analysts from central and eastern Europe have now for some time been pointing out that A) Ukrainian military in 2022 is on a whole different level than in 2014. Since the annexation of Crimea and start of civil war in Donbass, Ukrainians were expecting they will have to face Russians directly sooner or later and with the help of NATO have beefed-up it's military significantly. On the other hand the Russian military is base... (read more)