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OPINION APRIL 03, 2023 | The Indian Eye 10

The Corporatization of Ukraine War:

A Case of Unfolding

Asymmetry in Military Power

This corporatization of the war effort by Western powers,

whatever their individual motives might be, has demonstrated that today even a weaker

party to the war can stand up to a great power, and fight

HARINDER SINGH

or politicians, diplomats and
military leaders alike, the Rus-
Fso-Ukraine War has been most
instructive. As we look back, while
several old military beliefs and strat-
egies have stood the test of this war,
others stand challenged.

Each of these perspectives are
likely to be colored by individ-

ual country’s past experience
and outlook, yet these are im-
portant enough to reflect on
the Ukrainian war. On its part,

the Ukrainian state seems to
be doing all things right.

By leveraging its strong nation-
al will and societal resilience, the
Ukrainian military’s ingenuity and
battlefield dynamism, the steady
sourcing and induction of the right
war-fighting technologies, and ensur-
ing a regular supply of munitions and
logistic wherewithal, the Ukrainians
have spelt out the blueprint for fight- A steady supply of war-fighting material in terms of munitions, spare parts, and a surge in industrial capacities has emerged
ing future wars. The Russians have
struggled to leverage their superior as another crucial factor in winning a war (File photo)
war waging potential to achieve the
initial war aims and objectives, there- sourcing budgetary support, technol- the future of warfare. Money, men, given a new meaning to military bud-
by resulting in frequent change of ogy, training, and logistic wherewith- machines, and material (4Ms) is pos- geting and expenditure. In this war,
the war plans and theatre level lead- al, while at war, has emerged as an sibly a suitable construct to study this interestingly, budgeting the war ef-
ership. important lesson in this war. If this is war. Warfare will always remain an fort has become a collective endeav-
A key learning from the partly true, the idea of non-alignment interplay of these four vital compo- or for nations with the same ideo-
Ukrainian war is that weaker states or un-alignment as a state’s external nents, and any significant deficiency logical belief or interests. The West,
today can afford to stick their neck policy might well become detrimen- in any of these components can im- led by the US, has demonstrated that
out, provided ideologically or strate- tal to fight successful wars in future. pact the war-fighting capabilities of the threats to its values can coalesce
gically aligned bigger powers are will- An analytical framework is per- the state, and in turn, the military like-minded countries to put their
ing to commit long-term support to haps required to explain the lessons outcomes in field. money on the table or create a piggy
them. Above all, the power of crowd- of this war and analyze its impact on Firstly, the Ukrainian war has Continued on next page... >>

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