The Second Amendment fallacy still applies. The Ukrainians were and are much better armed than I had expected at the start of this war. They did have the proper defence systems to counter the Orc (Russian) attack. Additionally, the Ukrainian forces followed historic trends and either captured or destroyed enemy equipment.
But, they didn't just have small arms to defend the nation. Otherwise, this would be a vastly different and scarier war for the West. Russian intentions do not stop at Ukraine's borders. Sadly, people in the West were far too willing to appease Putin while pretending not to. Political theater at its worst.
My transition: A friend's brother was killed in the war. I don't know about my relations who are fighting. I hope they are doing well. I am not certain of the numbers, but I know that Ukraine is doing much better than Russia.
The something else: too many people outside of Ukraine don't understand they are a different country. I understand it because I understand the cultural nuaces that make nations different from each other. Also, I have relations who will tell you in no uncertain terms what your misconceptions are.
I made a statement that Ukraine was flat to a Ukrainian cousin when I was younger. She pulled out a topographic map to show me that the West was in the Carpathian mountains. Likewise, they will point out that Ukrainian culture isn't at all like Russian culture. You would think that Americans would understand that.
But the something else I want to mention is that quite a few people outside Ukraine are parroting the Russian line that Ukraine is somehow "part of Russia".
Not at all.
That is historical and cultural ignorance based on superficial knowledge. Unfortunately, I find that ignorance is endemic in the West, particularly in the US. I was unaware that there was a Bipartisan Congressional Ukraine Caucus in the US legislature and has been since 1997. I would think that caucus would be much more vocal about the issues in this war.
Additionally, there are a lot of people who have relatives who were DPs post-WWII. I am amazed they are not more vocal about what is going on. Perhaps because most of those people are "boomers" or their parents.
People need to understand that the West allowing Russia of occupy Crimea was only the start. The War in Ukraine is only a stepping stone to a war that will soon come to the West.