No War for Old Men
National SecurityNo War for Old MenThe fall of Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, leaves younger officers to finish the reforms that he resisted.By Simon ShusterAngela Weiss / AFP / GettyJuly 24, 2026, 6 AM ET ShareSave Drone warfare took a while to catch on in Ukraine. The opposition came mostly from the older generals trained to fight using artillery and tanks. Early in the war with Russia, many of them saw drones as toys, better suited to taking aerial photos of wedding parties than flying missions over the battlefield.
- ▪National SecurityNo War for Old MenThe fall of Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, leaves younger officers to finish the reforms that he resisted.By Simon ShusterAngela Weiss / AFP / GettyJuly 24, 2026, 6 AM ET ShareSave Drone warfare
- ▪The opposition came mostly from the older generals trained to fight using artillery and tanks.
- ▪Early in the war with Russia, many of them saw drones as toys, better suited to taking aerial photos of wedding parties than flying missions over the battlefield.
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National SecurityNo War for Old MenThe fall of Ukraine’s top general, Oleksandr Syrsky, leaves younger officers to finish the reforms that he resisted.By Simon ShusterAngela Weiss / AFP / GettyJuly 24, 2026, 6 AM ET ShareSave Drone warfare took a while to catch on in Ukraine. Like any revolution, it required a struggle. The opposition came mostly from the older generals trained to fight using artillery and tanks. Early in the war with Russia, many of them saw drones as toys, better suited to taking aerial photos of wedding parties than flying missions over the battlefield. But a coalition of junior officers and tech enthusiasts saw early on that drones could hold the key to Ukraine’s defense, even its victory.The course of the war has proved the younger generation right.
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