An ancient reason for hope in Ukraine

Europeans still hope that Ukraine can win the current shocking war. Many also continue to hope that democracy will be a major reason why the Ukrainians will be victorious. I believe that ancient history can help us to decide whether such hopes are reasonable or unrealistic.

When Russia launched this war, some feared that Ukraine was doomed. Russia is much larger and wealthier. It has many more soldiers and weapons than Ukraine. It was feared that these numbers alone would result in a rapid Russian victory.

Europe's leaders ended up thinking differently and decided to back Ukraine militarily. In doing so, these leaders shared a hope about democracy. This is that Ukraine, as an emerging democracy, can wage war better than autocratic Russia. Europe's leaders also assume their own democracies are able to work out how best to back the Ukrainians militarily.

History...