A Long, Hard Year: Russia-Ukraine War Lessons Learned 2023

This special commentary summarizes the major findings and lessons taken from the Russia-Ukraine War integrated research project conducted by members of the US Army War College class of 2024—all subject matter experts on their topics. It outlines seven lessons covering doctrinal, operational, technological, strategic, and political issues related to the second year of the war, including Russia’s use of mercenaries, the need to create a culture of mission command, ways to deal with a transparent battlefield because of persistent, ubiquitous surveillance, air superiority as a prerequisite for successful combined arms ground offensives, and changes to the intelligence and information domains.