Perhaps the largest explanation for some of the unanticipated Ukrainian success defending against the Russian invasion likely pertains to certain intangibles such a pure, unfettered, intensity of will to resist invaders and protect children and families. The collective fervor and resolve with which Ukraine openly defied Russia and unexpectedly mounted a crippling defense, if somewhat ineffable or difficult to describe, is probably the largest reason for Ukraine’s success.
This Ukrainian will to fight and die if needed for their homeland and children amounts to an “X” factor which is impossible to quantify or calculate. At the same time, the Russian military assault was beset with tactical errors, strategic miscalculations, supply chain blunders and a massive morale problem among the ranks.
Many former and current US generals, experts and observers cataloged a long list of Russian mis-steps and errors during the opening weeks of the assault, which resulted in the failure to capture Kyiv. One expert observer, a former senior leader in the intelligence community and former Army Vietnam combat veteran actually made a “list” of Russian errors.
“I remember on or about day three of the invasion, right at the end of February, I made a list of things that I thought the Russians had messed up. And I had a list of 29 things. It’s hard to believe that you could have had a group misfire on so many in so many ways, whether it was logistics, plan of attack or attacking on too many fronts. And, I mean, that was a colossal list,” Mike Mears, former Director of Human Capital, CIA, told Warrior in an interview.
The overall Ukrainian intensity was without question largely influenced if not fully inspired by a defiant President Zelensky who chose to stand in the middle of downtown Kyiv and vow to defend Ukraine. While the Russians had made an incursion into Ukraine in 2014, the skill and resolve of their military was likely lesser known, and many assumed a massive Russian Army would quickly overrun most if not all of Ukraine.
As an intelligence expert, Army combat veterans and student of military tactics and training, Mears detailed some of the perceived errors appearing to imperil the Russian effort, yet he also credited the unique and inspirational leadership qualities exhibited by President Zelensky.
“He has absolutely captured the hearts and minds of people and starting off with that, well publicized act of courage where he said ‘I don’t need a lift…. I need to ammo. I’m staying here.’ He voted. Great leaders vote with their feet and with their calendars. And that’s what he did,” Mears said.
Mears spent many years training leaders during his tenure at CIA, and has a cultivated, long-standing sense of the kinds of attributes and characteristics woven into the soul of great leaders.
“I was talking to a Ukrainian the other day, and I asked him, I said, Did you vote for Zellinsky? And he said, ‘Oh, no, no, I thought the guy was a comedian. I didn’t vote.’ And then he paused. And he said, ‘and you know, today, I’ll die for him.’”
There is certainly a logical reason why it would make sense for a soldier to defend one’s homeland, as it is something done throughout the history of humanity to varying degrees of success. Alongside the existence of superior strength and force, what are some of the ultimate margins of difference when it comes to victory and defeat in war? Why do smaller, seemingly less capable armies at times prevail? Is it luck, unknown circumstances or tactical proficiency? Perhaps none of those. Perhaps it is “heart.”
Heart, or unrestricted, passionate devotion to country, family and pure survival may best explain the reasons for Ukraine’s unexpected success.
In an effort to verbalize the difficult to capture variables which inform and account for seemingly limitless intensity, inspiration and will to fight, a former high-level leader in the intelligence community spoke to Warrior about several interesting psychological and neurological phenomena of great consequence to the human soul, cognition, intention and, ultimately, decision making.
Mears cited a famous text by a Noble Laureate Daniel Kahenman who authored “Thinking fast, Thinking slow,” an interesting study of the emotion and science behind human decision making. A large element of this, Kahenman explains, involves a significant and varied mix of logic and less calculable or more subjective phenomena such as emotion, inspiration, spirit or even instinct. Mears cited this “logical brain” and posited that indeed it was accompanied by an equally if not far more powerful “automatic” brain informed by passion, feeling, intuition or moral and philosophical sensibilities.
Perhaps Kehenman and Mears’ reading of his text comes close to finding words for inexplicable human traits and faculties such as inspiration, intensity, hopes and dreams.
“There’s the logical brain, then there is what I call the automatic brain, which is basically everything else…. our dreams, hopes, habits, and so forth. So Zelensky was taking that approach, and I think it’s a good one to use in leadership where you’ve got to engage the automatic brain, but you also have to engage that logical brain. We forget that quite often, after giving the logical reason for a change, the change falls flat and we don’t understand why,” Mears said.
Mears’ discussion of Zelensky reminds us of an ancient, yet timeless text which succeeded in capturing and informing the minds of millions throughout the centuries with ideas about the human condition. In the famous text “The Republic,” Plato outlines what’s known as the “tri-partied” model of the human soul in Book X, something which consists of a “beast” – or base desires and appetites … “rational principle” which is our distinctly human ability to reason, and the “spirit” or “EIDOS”… a passionate love of learning which inspires and motivates the philosopher king. Should we draw upon this classic Plutonic model, it would indeed seem that pure “rational principle” alone might be insufficient to inspire the kind of intense devotion shown by Ukrainians. It also requires the “spirit,” that lesser understood yet arguably more powerful element of human motivation. While drawing upon rationality in many key respects, Zelensky exhibits and appeals to “EIDOS.”
In short, Zelensky strikes a deeply entrenched, defining “chord” woven into the soul of man, responsible for inspiration, motivation .. and even a willingness to face death.
“We are emotional and instinctual animals. And as one neuroscientist told me, We operate in that mode, the habitual mode and so forth at 80% of the day, 85% of the day. So we should take that into account. And I think that’s why Zelenskyi is and has been so effective. He goes after the head. He goes after the heart and he goes after the gut,” Mears said.
