This Is The Shortest Article We’ve Ever Posted. It May Be The Most Important.

The articles we highlight for our readers come in all sizes. Some are as long as 4,000 words. Some may be as short as a few sentences. We judge each article not by its length, but by its quality and importance to readers.

The greatest speech in history, the Gettysburg Address, was only three minutes long. But, it will still be read 1,000 years from now. This article is only two short paragraphs, but its significance goes far beyond the brief content.

The article reports that Russian missiles struck Odessa in Ukraine and destroyed weapons supplied to Ukraine by the U.S. and NATO allies. By itself, that may not seem like a big deal. Wars are violent, missile attacks are common and weapons are destroyed on both sides all the time. That’s the nature of war. But, this report is highly significant because it points to a larger problem for the Ukrainian military, and by extension, the U.S. and NATO.

Russian troops outnumber the armed forces of Ukraine and have them surrounded in several key locations. Ukraine is depending on advanced weapons from the U.S. and NATO to level the playing field and enable it to destroy Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers and stop the Russian advance.

That’s possible. Billions of dollars of advanced weapons have been pledged to Ukraine to help that plan. But, what if the weapons never make it to the battlefield? What if the weapons are logjammed in Poland and Romania and can’t be delivered to Ukraine? What if the weapons make it to Ukraine but can’t make it to the locations where the troops are actually fighting? What if Ukrainian casualties and surrenders are so high that there are not enough troops left actually to use the weapons as intended?

These are all open questions but serious ones. Publicity and high-tech weapons alone are no substitute for actual deployment and use on the battlefield. By destroying weapons deliveries, the Russians have shown they have good intelligence and no intention of letting advanced weapons reach the Ukrainian troops on the front lines.

The outcome is uncertain, but investors should not expect a quick or easy end to the fighting based on high-profile announcements. One should expect the war to drag on for months. The results may be decidedly less favorable to Ukraine than the current media reports suggest.