Opinion

Ukraine remains stronger than you might think

Michael O’Hanlon is the Philip H. Knight chair in defense and strategy at the Brookings Institution and author of “Military History for the Modern Strategist: America’s Major Wars Since 1861.” This column is based on data collected by the Brookings Institution.

Two years since Russia invaded Ukraine and 10 since Vladimir Putin seized Crimea, the war is at a difficult standstill — not least because of wavering U.S. support. If Congress cuts off support, Ukraine could well collapse later this year. Yet Ukraine remains strong in many ways. It has continued to stymie the Kremlin’s greatest ambitions for taking over the country. While the going is tough today, there is no cause for fatalism.