Understanding the War in Ukraine

This course will consider the war in Ukraine to help participants better understand why the war started, how it is being fought, and to what it may lead. It will provide background to the current environment and will review the progress of the conflict since the Russian invasion in February 2022. The course will also consider the key military weapon systems and tactics used by both the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, as well as current events related to the conflict. We will conclude with a discussion of possible outcomes.

Reading: Owen Matthews, Overreach: The Inside Story of Putin’s War on Ukraine, ISBN 978-0008562786.

Dave Cutler is a retired U.S. Army Field Artillery Colonel, who served during the Cold War in cannon and rocket field artillery units in Korea, Germany, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After retirement from the Army, he was a federal employee in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness in the Pentagon. He holds a master’s degree in International affairs and is a graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps War College.