When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces widen it, revealing the texture of daily life, politics, and public argument in a nation at war. The perspectives gathered here are varied, candid, and often surprising, together forming a more complete picture of Ukraine as it really is.Frontline and StrategyМежа — Mezha.net (“Limit”)Small, independent publisher of Ukrainian and English language news and commentary“Russia is Losing its Edge: Even Russian Commanders Talk About Exhaustion and the Role of Technologies”By Igor Lutsenko/ Mar. 24, 2026Russian discourse increasingly acknowledges stalled battlefield momentum and rising losses. Commander Oleksandr Khodakovsky admits Russia’s resources — weaponry, industry, and manpower — have not secured superiority, and questions whether Ukraine will exhaust them first, pointing instead to internal Russian vulnerabilities, writes Igor Lutsenko . He highlights a major battlefield shift: technological adaptation now outweighs traditional advantages. Rapid innovation, especially in drones and satellite-enabled systems like Starlink, has changed the calculus of victory. Lutsenko says Ukraine’s edge lies in flexibility and tech integration, while Russia lags behind. The war is becoming a contest of innovation speed rather than sheer resources, he concludes, and by those measures, Ukraine is winning.“These assessments point to a broader shift: Russia’s traditional advantages — manpower and sheer equipment volume — are losing their decisive edge, while unmanned systems and the speed of innovation are becoming increasingly critical. Ukraine is leaning into this transformation, prioritizing flexibility, rapid technological adaptation, and the widespread use of drones, which in modern warfare enable efficient detection and destruction of targets