“I remember that, for a while, more hope was placed on the battlefield, and there was no understanding that the main thing was to pull troops off the field as much as possible,” said O'Brien.
“Now Ukrainians realize that changing the status quo on the battlefield by sending more soldiers will be extremely difficult, so it’s better to let drones and machines do the fighting. That’s been a major shift over the last few months, and it’s very positive.”
He added that Ukrainians recognize the value of long-range strikes but are frustrated by their limited capacity to carry them out.
“During my recent trip to Ukraine, I saw a fairly sober understanding of what victory will require and how hard it will be to achieve,” the professor continued.
“There are no unrealistic fantasies about the situation, but there is a strong desire for peace, and an awareness that peace with [Russian dictator Vladimir] Putin’s regime will be very difficult, because this isn’t what the Russians want.”