From the Front Lines of Ukraine: A Soldier’s Warning to America. Former U.S. soldier says the U.S.

[rangerrebew]

From the Front Lines of Ukraine: A Soldier’s Warning to America
The fight in Ukraine offers a glimpse of future war and a former U.S. soldier says the U.S. is unprepared
11 August, 2025
From the Front Lines of Ukraine: A Soldier’s Warning to America
 
CEO and Publisher
Suzanne Kelly is CEO and Publisher of The Cipher Brief
Editor’s Note: As President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin talk about meeting face-to-face in Alaska later this week to discuss an end to the war in Ukraine, The Cipher Brief is publishing this raw and unfiltered personal account of today’s war through the eyes of a former U.S. Special Forces operator, who is fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers. We have granted his request for anonymity for personal security reasons. You can read more from the author on his X account.

OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE -- I wrote this report on the night of 22nd-23rd July 2025 in the space of two and a half hours, after midnight, and after having not done any writing in years; and thus, I can be forgiven, I hope, for my idiosyncrasies and informality. I'm a soldier.
 
I go by the callsign ‘Xen’ and I currently work under a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF or “SSO” in Ukraine) regiment. My team leader and I are both former U.S. Special Operations personnel. Without wasting time on the details, I’ll say that we are “true believers” who supported Ukraine long before we left the U.S. military and long before the full-scale Russian invasion.

My reasons for coming to Ukraine as a soldier-volunteer were so intensely personal. I was motivated by ethnicity, history, philosophy, and a deep intuition of where all signs in my life were pointing.

https://www.thecipherbrief.com/front-lines-of-ukraine-warning

[BobfromWB]

Excerpt:

Conclusion

So, what should the U.S. do now? It’s pretty obvious if you’ve read all of the above.

Stop hand-wringing about the dominoes that may fall if Russia collapses due to losing to Ukraine.

Openly and fully support Ukraine, give them what they need to win this war. We have a key window of opportunity before mass-produced cheap autonomous drones are unleashed, during which American economic pressure and strategic striking power could collapse a fragile Russia overnight or almost overnight.

Next, partner with Ukraine and use their institutional knowledge to train, advise, and assist our own military and industry in revamping and scaling.

From the highest levels of power, whether in the private or public sector, someone who is a “true believer” needs to order work to be done. A top-down restructuring of the military and procurement process would work. Or hundreds of billions in private funding to create the drones, ready for use when the public sector gets wise, would work too.

The above actions will serve as a real and psychological deterrent to our other enemies, giving us breathing room to prepare for the inevitable.

[Timber Rattler]

Yep, that's exactly what the U.S. should be doing instead of all this fiddle farting around and tip-toeing on the eggshells around Putin's feet.

[MeganC]

Stop hand-wringing about the dominoes that may fall if Russia collapses due to losing to Ukraine.

Worried about the collapse of Russia? To me that's an optimal outcome! 

[BobfromWB]

Worried about the collapse of Russia? To me that's an optimal outcome! 

No me - that's the article conclusion

Make Russia invisible again - just like it was in the 17th century.