Defense officials in Washington and Kyiv foresee a long, bitter battle — probably broken by pro-Russian coup attempts, intermittent cease-fires and desperate peace plans — that will leave a volcano of violence festering in the middle of Europe. As during the Cold War, the path of eventual victory for the West will be unity, patience and a refusal to compromise on matters of principle.

Though analysts talk of a Russian tank invasion across the flat, frozen terrain in midwinter, the decisive initial factor, as in most modern wars, will probably be air and missile attacks. Ukraine has precision-guided missiles that can strike Russian forces in their staging areas and invasion routes. But Russia has much stronger firepower, and it may be able to pummel Ukraine for weeks from a distance without launching a risky ground invasion all the way to Kyiv…

This might be the world’s first large-scale cyberwar, and, here, the United States and its NATO allies can help, if Ukraine will let them. The Russians are likely to mount cyberattacks and disinformation operations to disorient the Ukrainian government and people; NATO experts have been urging authorities in Kyiv to prepare by disconnecting any vital services from the Internet and preparing alternate means to communicate with the population.