Lessons for the West from Ukraine on Operations and Supply Chains

Abstract

The war in Ukraine has become one of the most closely studied conflicts by Western militaries because it has highlighted how modern operations and military supply chains perform under sustained, high-intensity combat. The war in Ukraine has highlighted that military success depends not only on combat power but also on the ability to sustain operations under constant attack. Western militaries and policymakers have drawn several important lessons about operations and supply chains. The paper examines the major lessons learned from Ukraine war and provides recommendations for governments and industries seeking to build more resilient supply chains. This paper argues that operational success depends as much on resilient supply chains as on combat power. Also, the Russia–Ukraine war has demonstrated that critical infrastructure and supply chains are central elements of modern warfare, not just supporting functions. In the first part, this paper explains the critical infrastructure-supply chain nexus. In the second part, explains the importance of having resilient supply chains and logistics during the war, whereas in the last part summarizes the lesson learnt for the West from Ukraine on operation and supply chains.