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Russian Officers Told to Bring Dress Uniforms for Kyiv Victory Parade

The past is our tour guide through the present and future but only if we are willing to listen

6 min readDec 18, 2022
PHOTO: SLAVA KATAMIDZE COLLECTION/GETTY IMAGES

There are a few things that Russia does not do well. It does not know how to cope with losing wars and it never regards the lessons of history as the potentially priceless pearls of wisdom they often turn out to be.

Let’s begin with the second lesson.

Russian invasion plans, obtained by The New York Times, show that the military expected to sprint hundreds of miles across Ukraine and triumph within days. Officers were told to pack their dress uniforms and medals in anticipation of military parades in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv (The Inside Story of Catastrophe).

I would love to have been a fly on the wall when this officer was telling his wife he needed his dress uniform:

“Honey, we will be in Kyiv in a week and then there will be a huge celebration. Just fold up my dress uniform carefully and I can get it pressed in Kyiv at the hotel.”

What this soldier should have done, the moment he was told to bring his “dress blues” with him was head off to the local museum.

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B Kean
B Kean

Written by B Kean

The past holds the answers to today’s problems. “Be curious, not judgmental,” at least until you have all the facts. Think and stop watching cable news.

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