After more than a thousand days of war, there are signs that Ukraine is suffering from a manpower shortage. Russia is capitalizing on this, seizing territory faster this year than it has since 2022, and terrorizing Ukrainians with cheaply produced glide bombs — old Soviet-era munitions retrofitted with wings and GPS.
Last fall, we spoke with Colonel Maksym Balagora, the commander of special forces in the Ukrainian border guard, and asked him whether Russia’s use of glide bombs had changed the course of the war.
“They pose the biggest threat right now,” he told us. “They drain our Soldiers’ motivation to win.”
The Ukrainians responded in August with the largest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War II.
But in October, we found a gloomy and anxious mood in Kyiv. The Ukrainians told us they fear that if Donald Trump wins the US election, he will cut off arms supplies and pressure the Ukrainian government to hand over territory.
A woman named Halina told us that her husband serves in the army, and she expressed her hope that the Americans would not abandon them.
She asked: “Are you concerned that Donald Trump might cut off arms supplies to Ukraine?”
She replied: “Yes.” “For us, it’s a matter of survival.”
After the election, President Joe Biden finally gave Ukraine permission to strike Russia with U.S.-supplied ATACM missiles — missiles with a range of nearly 200 miles — perhaps in an attempt to help Ukraine maximize its gains before Trump takes office.
Without a steady flow of American weapons, the front line in Ukraine could collapse. That would give Russian President Vladimir Putin a massive victory. Throughout this crushing war of attrition, he was waiting for the West’s unity and determination to collapse.
The story was produced by Mark Hudspeth. Editor: Ed Givnish.
