This past September European Command (EUCOM) head Gen. Christopher Cavoli presented a new plan for EU defense to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. A dedicated Ukraine mission would be run in Germany, to solidify progress made since 2015 to protect Europe against unprovoked Russian aggression.

The NYT described the plan soon after as “streamlining an assistance system…created on the fly” with several hundred dedicated personnel. Results have been nothing but impressive since then, including supply-chain security measures to reduce integrity risks (fraud, graft) and ensure intended outcomes.

In retrospect, before Russia invaded earlier this year, the US, Canada, Lithuania, Denmark, Poland, Sweden and UK (Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine) had been operational inside Ukraine near Lviv. Thus the September Pentagon announcement continues to be notable for Europe (or even Africa), not least of all because of its role in fighting corruption, yet it hasn’t restored official staffing levels that once were inside Ukraine.