Five thousand miles from Kyiv, one cannot know with any kind of certainty how things are going in the war. I read daily, but not exhaustively, updates on the offensive, reports of modest gains, of casualties, and the shortage of ammunition. That Putin might hang on and the war become a long one should come as no surprise to anyone with any knowledge of history. Things always drag on longer than expected. Lightning victory—I cannot name one offhand, and I have read a lot of history. A war being fought in trenches will be slow going. Which is why the friends and allies of Ukraine must remember to be patient. The sharing of materiel and treasure is as nothing compared to the sacrifices Ukrainians make daily, nightly, hourly. We should honor their heroic example, their perseverance, with our patience and continued support.
Some weeks ago I read Edith Wharton’s account of France at the outset of World War I, Fighting France. “War is the greatest of paradoxes,” she wrote, “the most senseless and disheartening of human retrogressions, and yet the stimulant of qualities of soul which, in every race, can seemingly find no other renewal.” If your motives are noble, national self-defense among them, you are ennobled. The qualities of soul on exhibit in Kyiv and Bakhmut and Robotyne, on the streets, in the trenches, and aloft on the wings of drones—courage, ingenuity, resilience—deserve our fullest appreciation.
