Commentary
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has exploded many myths, perhaps none more than the myth that, over the past decade or so, Russia has successfully transformed and modernized its armed force.
Just before the war, many Western analysts (who really should’ve known better) were touting the Russian military as a well-equipped conventional force, built around professional personnel and held at a higher readiness than ever before. Russia had “turned the corner” on military modernization and was now capable of providing Moscow “with a credible military tool for pursuing national policy goals.”
Instead, Russia failed to meet its initial objective of capturing Kyiv in the first few days of the war and was forced into a mortifying retreat from the northern part of Ukraine. Moscow’s later successes in capturing most of the four oblasts in Ukraine’s south and east—later annexing them in sham referendums—were stymied by a major Ukrainian counteroffensive late last year and a resulting stalemate….