The U.S. media’s coverage of the Russo-Ukrainian war has been disappointing. For the most part, it’s consisted of junior reporters burnishing their credentials without putting in the work to have even the most rudimentary background knowledge of the subject matter, while spending their time sitting in the relative safety of Kyiv and regurgitating press releases from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MOD). So on the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion, we figured that if they’re not doing their jobs, we might as well do it for them.
Why? Because this war will define TTPs for near-peer conflict for the next decade. Because the emergence of readily available COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) weapon delivery systems in the form of drones will have an enormous effect on U.S. armor, artillery, and air defense systems for the foreseeable future. And because we’re dumping huge amounts of taxpayer dollars into the conflict, oversight from the fourth estate is not only expected but should be demanded.
BEING THERE
We visited Ukraine last year (see RECOIL Issue 63) through the good efforts of a grassroots charity, and got the opportunity to repeat the process this time. People Helping People has delivered tons of humanitarian aid to folks affected by the conflict, without any government assistance on either end. By using a network of family and friends, they’ve ensured all donations end up directly in the
