The first lesson was that Ukraine was stronger than Russian or American authorities expected. Most commenters expected Russia to win rapidly, not unreasonable given the relative size of the two countries' population and economies. They didn't. It took longer to learn but the second lesson was that so was Russia. Their military performance was not impressive but neither sanctions nor the cost of three and a half years of a very bloody war seems to have had much effect on the economy, the conditions for Russian civilians, or Putin's hold on power. The third lesson was that the crucial weapons were not tanks but drones and that the technological superiority of the NATO powers was less important than expected. As best I can tell, the important improvements in drone technology were made not by the US and the advanced European economies but by Russians and Ukrainians. The fourth lesson was that the European NATO powers were weaker than expected. Their GNP is about four times Russia's and...
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