War in Ukraine – What I Saw

I recently returned from driving non-military supplies to Ukraine. I am an American business leader based in Boston with a full life. I recently published a well-received book, Create the Future, on how to make difficult decisions. I am not looking for things to do.

I’ve traveled to Europe many times, including the beaches of Normandy, and believe that war in Europe is tragic history not to be repeated. I have followed the news about the war in Ukraine—Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy inspired me by his response to President Biden’s offer of help: “The fight is here. I need ammunition, not a ride.”

Soon after the invasion, I hosted a virtual event for Harvard Business School alumni to hear from Ukrainian business leaders how they were adapting their businesses to help defend their country.

The war dragged on, and both Europe and the US seemed ambivalent about supporting Ukraine. They provided military supplies but not enough to defeat the invasion. Pres. Trump’s election raised more doubts about America’s support. Trump asked why the US should be involved if Europe is not fully supporting Ukraine.

Pres. Trump and Pres. Zelenskyy had a disastrous meeting in February followed by the US limiting its support of Ukraine. Pres. Trump then initiated a meeting with Russian Pres. Putin followed by meetings with Zelenskyy and European leaders trying to start direct negotiations for ending the war. I can only hope this process will be successful.

While participating in a retreat over New Year’s weekend, I met someone who had organized other Americans to drive donated, non-military supplies to Ukraine. After listening to his experiences, I asked for a heads up if he organized another supply convoy.

He came back to me with news that a supply convoy was coming together, I said, “count me in!” I wanted to see and understand first hand what was happening in Ukraine. In a small way, I wanted to help. I am sharing with you what I saw and experienced.

In June, I flew to Warsaw, Poland, and met twenty-five Americans and Finns. Our job was to load donated relief supplies into vans and trucks and drive them from Warsaw to Kyiv, Ukraine. We also drove a donated fire engine and ambulance.

Our first stop was Lviv in western Ukraine. Air raid sirens went off as I walked into a small hotel at 9 PM exhausted from driving a van all day and into the night. The next morning, we stopped at a large park in the city that had been turned into a massive graveyard. Flags and pictures of young men and woman solders killed by Russia adorned every grave.

We then drove across endless rolling farmland to Kyiv, a city of 3 million built on hills along the Dnieper River. It has been a major trading center exporting agricultural products across the Black Sea for a thousand years.

I walked around the city exploring its streets and public parks. I met with civilian and military leaders. I talked to bartenders, waitresses, and hotel clerks. Here is what I saw and experienced.

• I saw dilapidated, Soviet-era apartment blocks and ultra-modern commercial buildings and apartments.
• I saw the faces of THOUSANDS of men and women killed by Russia.
• I saw new graves dug for fallen soldiers.
• I saw tall apartment buildings with massive craters in their facades from Russian missile strikes.
• I saw big city morning commuter traffic going to work and heard air raid sirens at night.
• I saw pretty girls posing for photos while walking with their boyfriends.
• I saw burned-out Russian tanks in a Kyiv square.
• I saw joy and sadness as friends separated before curfew so they can be in or near the bomb shelter.

I did not experience a direct Russian missile attack, though the air raid sirens blared at night. Here are my key takeaways.

The biggest takeaway, for me, was the magnitude of the dying. The US press gives the impression that casualties are infrequent and that life in Ukraine is disrupted, but mostly continuing as usual. Public reports say 200,000 Ukrainians are dead or wounded, with Russian casualties of about 1 million. The cream of Ukraine’s youth, mostly young men, are dying every day.

After being in Ukraine, I spent several days in London and visited the British Museum. The Museum’s artifacts tell the story of human civilization from the Egyptian conquest of the Nile Valley to the Greek, Roman, and English colonial empires. The Romans conquered Britain in 43 AD. French Normans conquered Britain in 1066. Germany’s military campaigns to expand its empire led to World War I and World War II. War and conquest are the human story.

We are at a critical historical moment in Europe. Europeans have conquered each other for thousands of years. After World War II, we hoped that wars of military conquest had ended, at least in Europe.  Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues that story in our time.

I did not go to the front lines in eastern Ukraine, but I saw a country at war. Ukrainian flags are everywhere. While we are spending billions of dollars to send rockets to Mars, I was in workshops where Ukrainians are salvaging decades-old Soviet military equipment and parts to make them serviceable again. I saw drones that the Ukrainians are making from off-the-shelf commercial parts to make Russian (and American) tanks obsolete.

I hope Europeans will help Ukraine defeat Russia’s invasion, with American help, and finally put an end to wars like this in Europe. I went to Ukraine to learn, to witness, to help, and to make a statement about who I am.

Written by Rick Williams. Have you read?
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