British Army Colonel: Ukraine Has Seized The Initiative
- 26.05.2026, 17:22
How the war has changed since 2022.
The main change in the war so far, compared to 2022, is that Ukraine has changed from a peacetime country to a country at war in that time. Retired British Army Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon said this in an interview with Channel 24.
In his opinion, the situation now is very different from the beginning of the invasion, when Ukraine "actually didn't know how to fight yet" and had a small army. During this time, to overcome the difficult situation, Ukraine "managed to find a way of warfare that suited it." At the same time, the change was extremely rapid, according to military logic.
"Most of the people now serving in the Ukrainian army were civilians in 2022. As a military man, I know that traditional military training takes a long time. But what you've done in the last four years, the speed of these innovations is astounding. Although drones existed both four and five years ago, it was Ukraine that learned how to use them most effectively," he explained.
He noted that since their first use, the use of drones has reached a new level: "Ukraine has created its own drones that can fly thousands of kilometers, remain undetected by Russian intelligence and not be shot down by Russian air defense."
He agrees that such a thing cannot be repeated by any country in the world. At the same time, the UK military, he said, is trying "to learn as much as possible from Ukraine in this way of warfare."
"Obviously, the Russians have also made some progress in this area, but they are nowhere near the level that Ukraine is demonstrating," he added.
The colonel explained that it is not only about the technological component, but also about the choice of targets and strategic vision. In his opinion, there are people in the Ministry of Defense and special services who "develop this way of warfare." They are identifying targets for deep strikes that will hit Russia most painfully. With the speed of innovation that the resilience of the people supports, Ukraine is wearing down the Russians. That's a real difference in warfare when you compare it to 2022.
One of the main things he noted, however, was the seizure of the initiative, which is now behind Ukraine:
"Ukraine has seized the initiative, and in military affairs we've seen throughout history that when you have the initiative, it's very difficult for the enemy to make a difference. It's like a supertanker. The Ukrainian supertanker is moving eastward. Supertankers move very slowly, as we see, but they are gaining momentum."
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