I grew up in Ukraine, and I distinctly remember how little Ukrainians cared about their military before 2014. It was chronically underfunded, equipment in terri

I grew up in Ukraine, and I distinctly remember how little Ukrainians cared about their military before 2014. It was chronically underfunded, equipment in terrible shape, not nearly enough training, outdated tactics, etc. And Ukrainians wanted it that way, because who wants to think about war and spend resources on the military when your country is in such terrible shape financially already? I shared that attitude growing up. And this is a huge reason why the war happened in the first place. In some neighbourhoods, weakness invites aggression. Ignoring that fact won't make it go away. To have lasting peace, it is necessary (though not sufficient) to have a strong deterrent.