The fierce resistance with which the Ukrainians met the Russian invasion of their country and the tremendous efforts made by ordinary citizens daily to confront the Russian army during the ongoing war surprised many Western observers.
The various spectrums of the Ukrainian people, including regular employees, beauty queens, the elderly and veterans, have come out to take up arms against the invading Russian army, according to an article by retired US General Mike Ribas, the former commander of US special operations in Europe, published by the Washington Post.
In his article, which was published under the title "The Fierce Ukrainian Resistance Is Not A Chance," Ribas believes that the emergence of Ukrainians of all stripes to resist the Russian invasion was not a coincidence, but rather due to many factors;
Among them is the common sense of patriotism that Ukrainians have in zealously defending their homeland, their homes, and their way of life in the face of a devastating Russian invasion, and that has produced a national response that has so far proven admirably resilient.
Also among those factors - according to the former commander of US operations in Europe - is the fact that the Ukrainian authorities were aware that the war was inevitably coming and prepared their people for confrontation.
The Ukrainian authorities issued a law in July 2021 establishing the “Ukrainian Regional Defense Forces” and making them a framework for integrating local militias located in all 25 Ukrainian regions and regions, and those in major cities as well. The said law also provided for the formation of a force Resistance in the event that Russia invades the country.
When the Russian invasion of Ukraine began last week, the aforementioned regional defense forces had been formed and taken up their positions, and when more than 130,000 citizens volunteered to take up arms, it was a ready framework to accommodate them, according to the article.
The former commander of US special operations in Europe highlights in his article the imbalance of power between the Ukrainian army and the popular resistance supporting it on the one hand, and the Russian forces, as Russia sent a technologically superior army of more than 160,000 soldiers working in about 100 tactical groups, Its long-range missiles, air force, and navy were also used in the war.
Ribas concludes that Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to subjugate Ukraine, so negotiating with him may not lead to stopping the war. Social communication, which the writer believes that the Ukrainian resistance forces are seeking to make the war on their country painful for the Russian army to the extent that prevents it from controlling it, and they have succeeded in achieving this so far, as he put it.