Key Points and Summary – Despite facing a vastly larger and better-funded Russian military, Ukraine has consistently overperformed since the 2022 invasion.
-It has successfully defended the vast majority of its territory, preventing Russia from establishing footholds beyond the east and south.
-Ukrainian forces have also mounted successful counteroffensives, liberating key strategic hubs in regions like Kharkiv and Kherson.
-Perhaps most impressively, they executed “Operation Spider’s Web,” a daring covert drone raid that spanned five time zones and damaged or destroyed dozens of high-value Russian strategic bombers deep inside enemy territory, showcasing remarkable ingenuity and asymmetric warfare capabilities.
3 Ways Ukraine Overperformed Against Russia
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, its goals were clear: overthrow the government in Kyiv, install a Kremlin-loyal regime, and, as Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “denazify” the country.
While the annexation of the Donbas region was always the central prize for the Kremlin, Russia’s repeated strikes against Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa showed that its true ambition was to subjugate the entire nation.
And with an economy roughly ten times larger than Ukraine’s and a military roughly four times its size (when accounting for active-duty and paramilitary support pre-war), Moscow expected a quick victory.
Instead, Ukraine fought back, leveraging NATO training, European weapons, and intelligence support to achieve successes that far exceeded its capabilities.
While the war is still not over, Ukrainian forces have already overperformed in at least three fascinating ways.
Territory Held
Russia invaded Ukraine with overwhelming advantages, boasting an active military of over 1.1 million personnel at the time, and a defense budget an order of magnitude higher than Ukraine’s.
Yet Ukraine, with far fewer resources, is still fighting three and a half years later – and has blocked Russian efforts to establish footholds outside of its eastern territories.
Russia controls 19-20% of Ukraine, depending on which sources you believe – a figure accepted by both the United Nations and Ukrainian authorities.
Despite drone and missile barrages on major cities throughout the country, however, Ukraine has so far defended its capital, its critical port cities, and its industrial heartlands.
For Moscow, the progress made so far likely comes as a surprise; while Russia is on track to take control of eastern Ukraine, reaching this point has taken years – not weeks – and could take years more, absent a peace deal.
Successful Counteroffensives
Ukraine’s early counteroffensives in 2022 revealed its capacity to surprise the Russians.
In September that year, Kyiv’s forces reclaimed over 3,000 square kilometers in the Kharkiv region, including the key cities of Kupiansk, Izyum, and Balakliia – all vital logistics hubs – forcing Russian withdrawals.
In the south, an operation in Kherson liberated several towns north of the Dnipro River. And notably, Ukraine even crossed into Russia’s Kursk region in August 2024, seizing nearly 500 square miles – though most of that ground was eventually retaken by Russian forces.
Covert Operations
Perhaps the most impressive story from the conflict so far, however, is Operation Spider’s Web – the name given to a covert operation launched on June 1, 2025.
The surprise attack, carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) against five Russian air bases – Belaya, Dyagilevo, Ivanovo-Severny, Olenya, and Ukrainka – spanned five time zones.
Conceived and planned over 18 months, the operation involved smuggling more than one hundred FPV drones hidden inside trucks driven by unsuspecting Russian drivers. Once near their targets, the drones were activated and directed towards Russia’s strategic bombers.
The attack saw dozens of Russian aircraft damaged or destroyed – as many as 40, depending on the source – including Tu-95s, Tu-22M3s, and A-50s.
And however the war ends now, Operation Spider’s Web will always be remembered as one of the most surprising examples of asymmetric warfare in modern history.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York who writes frequently for National Security Journal. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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