VIDEO
Russia’s forcible annexation of Crimea and sparking of a war in Donbas in 2014 jolted the Ukrainian military establishment and pushed the country to set NATO membership as a strategic goal. Yet despite years of political, military and financial support from its Western partners, Ukraine’s Armed Forces continue to lag in terms of where their capabilities and level of reforms could be expected at this point. As a Soviet-era officer corps reasserts its influence over the high command and expanding bureaucracy reaches levels not seen since before the outbreak of the war, these developments not only undermine crucial Ukrainian military reforms but also endanger Ukraine’s European integration as well as damage troop morale on the front lines. By facing Russia militarily in Donbas and elsewhere, Ukraine argues it is expending its own blood and treasure to protect US allies like Poland and the Baltics, and ultimately the United States itself. However, by failing to complete or undertake necessary reforms of its Armed Forces, Kyiv is actually increasing the risks by leading Moscow to calculate that the latter can afford to continue the war or even escalate it.
