Let's start things off by listing each country's advantages in this war. I will start with Russia:

1. Russia has a superior military force, with tech capable of destroying many cities.

2. Russia has Ukraine almost surrounded with a few areas already taken over, which provides a military advantage

3. Russia has an economic advantage as they are a top exporter of many things that are essential for european countries to operate.

Now let's list Ukraine's advantages:

1. Ukraine has united many pro-Russian Ukrainians in favor of Ukraine. This leads to a larger military force

2. Ukrainian soldiers have a very high morale

At first glance, it seems as if Ukraine is at a very bad disadvantage here. As my argument unfolds, you will see that they are not.

Let's look at the disadvantages of Russia:

1. Russian soldiers are uncoordinated and have little to no morale as many of them are working under the threat of being killed if they don't participate.

2. Russian tanks are left out in the open with no operators, which makes it easy for Ukrainians to capture and use for themselves.

3. In southern Ukraine, Zelensky ordered a dam to be built around the only fresh water source that flows into Crimea, a part of Ukraine that was captured by Russian forces. This has caused increased costs to transport water into Crimea for the soldiers guarding it.

4. Russia's economy is a command economy whereas Ukraine is an emerging market economy. Russia's economy will not be able to sponsor a war for a long period of time without significantly damaging Russia.

5. The sanctions put on exported Russian goods will cause Russia's economy to fail even further than it already has.

6. Russia has historically had more deaths than births. When COVID-19 hit in 2020, the death rates increased. This hurt Russia's population even more than what was already happening. This will hurt the military supply.

Disadvantages of Ukraine:

1. Many oil drilling companies that provided jobs for Ukrainians have left due to the war and Ukraine has lost wealth due to this

2. Ukraine is not a part of NATO, so they cannot call on military support from neighboring european countries.

Ukraine does not seem so much at a disadvantage anymore. In fact, it seems as though Ukraine is at an advantage. This is where my main argument comes in.

I will begin by saying it is much easier to destroy a city than to capture it. With rubble everywhere it provides cover for Ukrainian soldiers, and it makes Russian vehicles harder to move into the city. There have been numerous pro-Russian Ukrainians who are fighting for Ukraine because they are utterly disgusted at what Putin is trying to do. In fact, there have been protests over in Russia about the war in Ukraine because of how closely Ukraine and Russia are tied historically. Many Russians have family living in Ukraine as well that have helped fuel the protests. There is economic and political unrest in Russia, and none of this helps the Russians win the war.

A famous quote from Napoleon states:

"An army's effectiveness depends on its size, training, experience, and morale. Morale is worth more than any of the other factors combined"

Also take this quote by Sun Tzu:

"Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley."

The country of Ukraine is unified, and their leader is showing himself to be very loyal to the country. Both of these factors increase the level of morale that the people have. Not only that, but Zelensky is treating his people like "his own beloved sons". Let me connect the dots: Zelensky would die for his people and his country, so it would follow that the people of Ukraine would want to follow Zelensky into war. These two factors alone are a driving force to victory. The only way I see this could all go south is if the Russian military simply outnumbers the Ukrainians, but the population crisis that has been going on in Russia for many years makes this very unlikely. People who had no affiliation with the Ukrainian military are volunteering to fight for their country. It seems that the Ukrainian military grows by the day.

On the other hand, Germany has been struggling to put the sanctions on Russia because of the amount of reliance they have had on Russian goods. This means that Russia is still getting some support from European countries. Oil drilling companies that were positioned in Ukraine have left due to the war and have gotten rid of many jobs for Ukrainians and has led to a decreased wealth for Ukraine.

To conclude, Ukraine has an advantage over Russia, and if the morale in Ukraine continues to be high, I believe the Ukrainians can win this war.