Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

KYIV—After another long night of thundering bombardment, the people of Kyiv are exhausted, shaky, and seething with anger. “We look at one another, clench our fists, and growl,” said Juliia Turba of the Snake Island Institute, a think tank based in Kyiv. “Then we get back to work.” Bakers go to bakeries, hair stylists go to salons, and analysts go to think tanks. Rush-hour traffic on the Pivdennyi Bridge is as maddeningly slow as ever. Young volunteers from civic initiatives like Kyiv Bats, Repair Together, and the all-women Velyke Divnytstvo are first to arrive at the sites of destruction, where they sweep up glass, clear debris from the streets, and board shattered windows. It’s a matter of dignity for Ukrainians that Russia’s cruel strikes don’t throw their lives into complete disarray—much less break them.

Ukraine has pulled off the extraordinary: repelling the world’s third-largest superpower with an army that, in 2014 when the war began, was largely unfit for battle of any kind. The military’s rapid modernization, turbocharged since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, is a credit to the country’s leadership. On the battlefield, the Ukrainian armed forces’ bravery and ingenuity is the stuff of legend. Bolstered by U.S. and European spending and weaponry, Ukraine has ground down Russia’s advances, making the invaders pay extravagantly in terms of blood and treasure.

KYIV—After another long night of thundering bombardment, the people of Kyiv are exhausted, shaky, and seething with anger. “We look at one another, clench our fists, and growl,” said Juliia Turba of the Snake Island Institute, a think tank based in Kyiv. “Then we get back to work.” Bakers go to bakeries, hair stylists go to salons, and analysts go to think tanks. Rush-hour traffic on the Pivdennyi Bridge is as maddeningly slow as ever. Young volunteers from civic initiatives like Kyiv Bats, Repair Together, and the all-women Velyke Divnytstvo are first to arrive at the sites of destruction, where they sweep up glass, clear debris from the streets, and board shattered windows. It’s a matter of dignity for Ukrainians that Russia’s cruel strikes don’t throw their lives into complete disarray—much less break them.

Ukraine has pulled off the extraordinary: repelling the world’s third-largest superpower with an army that, in 2014 when the war began, was largely unfit for battle of any kind. The military’s rapid modernization, turbocharged since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in 2022, is a credit to the country’s leadership. On the battlefield, the Ukrainian armed forces’ bravery and ingenuity is the stuff of legend. Bolstered by U.S. and European spending and weaponry, Ukraine has ground down Russia’s advances, making the invaders pay extravagantly in terms of blood and treasure.

But the story of Ukraine’s historic defense is incomplete without the........

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