Joseph Lindsley
Ukrainian Freedom News
University of Notre Dame
Ukraine
Joe Lindsley is the only journalist who has reported live from Ukraine every single weekday since Russia’s big invasion, while assembling money and volunteers to bring supplies to the front-line. Former protégé to Fox News boss. Then I escaped, for truth. Reporting with Chicago’s @wgnradio and Poland’s @tvpworld | Donations welcome here: ukrainianfreedomnews.com
Oct 2nd, 2025
“My former unit would not last 48 hours out there.”
That’s what a US Special Forces veteran said after seeing Ukraine’s front lines.
Eighteen months later, dozens more ex-soldiers echo the same DIRE warning: The West is NOT ready.
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Western militaries—trained for Iraq, Afghanistan, & “traditional” wars—are unprepared for the drone swarm battlefields of Ukraine. In their arrogance, they think Ukraine’s situation is something they will never have to face.
The warning comes from American Deborah Fairlamb in a Henry Jackson Society report, “European Defense Autonomy: Identifying Key Companies & Products to Replace U.S. Capabilities” by David Kirichenko and Mykola Kuzmin. Kyiv-based Fairlamb is co-founder of Green Flag Ventures, funding Ukrainian mil-tech.
The awareness gap is deadly. U.S. veterans who’ve seen Ukraine say Western armies don’t understand:
⦿ drone swarms: land, air, sea
⦿ electronic warfare everywhere
⦿ battlefield adaptation in days, not years
Meanwhile, Western defense procurement offices cling to 20th-century habits.
Arguments in Washington & Brussels often sound like this:
➡️ “Traditional defense systems are superior.”
➡️ “We won’t fight that way.”
Both are illusions. Russia & China will fight with unmanned systems—and in vast numbers.
This isn’t just about Ukraine. The US demands Europe must carry more weight.
That means:
—closing capability gaps
—integrating drones & counter-drone tech
—fusing old and new systems fast
To do so, Europe must learn from ‘Lab Ukraine,’ while also supporting Ukraine.
The report reviewed by Fairlamb ends with 11 clear policy recommendations. Its audience: ministries of defense, parliaments, and general staffs across Europe. Its urgency: Every lesson comes from blood on Ukraine’s fields. China is watching. Are we?
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Comment from :
Christopher J. Wajnikonis P.E. (TX), CEng (U.K.)
When ‘politicians’ claim they can’t take responsibility for their own safety (with Ukraine ALREADY committing much of its blood to help them) they really mean that: –
they aren’t ready to give up NOW the few cents they save by buying (black market) oil & gas from ruZZia; – they aren’t ready to stop selling their components to ruZZia; –
they don’t understand that Putin won’t stop on Ukraine if they let him win there; –
they don’t know where their Countries are on the map & they don’t realize that their Countries will be next; –
they don’t value their Freedom, because they’ve never known anything else & they value the few cents they save more; –
they don’t value the Ukrainian blood shed also for their Freedom –
they don’t mind to see it squandered; – they aren’t prepared to explain all this to their voters; –
they aren’t afraid that the voters who placed their trust in them could loose their Freedom; – doing 1% of their DUTY makes them feel GREAT & they don’t hesitate to skip the rest; –
they aren’t prepared to fulfill their Oath in Office; – they consider ¥ΣLL0W preferable to WlSE; –
they think / say / decide that “in 2 weeks”, in a year or after 2030 is always better than NOW; –
they don’t understand what LEADERSHIP is; – etc.
…………………….
ZELENSKYY AND THATCHER AGREE:
At the UN Zelenskyy showed the world a lesson learned the hard way: If you are not well-armed, you cannot protect your liberty.
Margaret Thatcher told the U.S. Congress the same, years ago: The build-up of weapons doesn’t cause war. The failure to do so does.
Video here :
As always, the words of Sir Winston Spencer Churchill and Lady Thatcher are still relevant now.
Absolutely. How I miss their wisdom.