Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is well known for his ability to unite and inspire Ukrainians by directly defying Russian invaders from Kyiv. Yet Ukraine’s ability to stop, repel, and destroy attacking Russian forces could not be happening without substantial tactical proficiency. 

“[D]espite being outgunned and outmanned, the Ukrainians have demonstrated superior tactical proficiency and they've demonstrated a superior will to fight, fight for their own country, fight for their freedom,” Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told an audience after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany. 

Ukraine has used U.S. and NATO-provided weaponry and innovative warfare tactics to achieve unexpected success. 

Tactically, Ukrainians have applied the idea of decentralized command and control in several respects. Ukraine’s use of anti-armor weapons is perhaps the most visible element of this, as dispersed groups of dismounted fighters stage ambushes and hit-and-run attacks on incoming mechanized Russian forces. Without fighting in large formations or having every movement orchestrated from one central command hub, Ukrainian fighters leverage the element of surprise while making themselves smaller targets for Russian attackers. 

The most important leadership quality during combat is competence, says Mike Mears, former director of human capital at CIA, told The National Interest in an interview. 

“There was an interesting study at West Point some time ago that said, when you're in combat all of those attributes or needs, leadership, strengths, drop, and suddenly another one comes up to be number one, and that is competence. And the reason is if you're caught in a firefight, what you hope more than anything is that your Sergeant knows what to do and how to do it. You don't care so much about all this other stuff. And that's the only exception in leadership, I think, in which you get this during life-threatening situations, you get this little reversal,” Mears explained. 

Along these lines, yet another aspect of Ukraine’s effective use of a decentralized strategy can be seen in the communications realm. There has not appeared to be any kind of functional command and control center to coordinate tactical decisions. Instead, those at the tip of the spear are empowered to make rapid decisions. Having multiple dispersed radio nodes is a critical element of a decentralized strategy as it makes communication much more survivable and sustainable when facing a major threat. Smaller radio locations spread apart create less detectable signals that Russian forces can find. The smaller the radio or electronic device, the less detectable the emitting signal is for enemies to track and jam. This decentralized command and control strategy may be one key reason there are few reports of Russia using electronic warfare systems to great effect.

“Look back at Zelensky, he had about 26 percent approval rating on February 23, or shortly before the invasion. And I think there was a recent survey that showed him with a 91 percent approval rating. He has shown himself that he's not a comedian. This guy is a highly competent manager, administrator, and leader. The competence that he's showing is extraordinarily reassuring to the Ukrainian people,” Mears said. 

Kris Osborn is the defense editor for the National Interest. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Master’s Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

Image: Reuters.