I am well aware of the shortcomings of the shuttle, but at least the shuttle was a platform which could undertake projects such as the repairing of the Hubble and other satallites.
This russian ship and the new NASA prototype could not possibly be used for that, and could do little more than ferry astronauts to the ISS and back. Forgive me for seeming dense, but what exactly is the mission of the new vehicle?
The new vehicle will ferry people to orbit and back. When large payloads need to go, they'll go uncrewed. Right now, there's only the STS for both jobs, and it's not only far too expensive, it takes too long to recycle the vehicle. The US needs a heavy lift capability for any human missions in space (including back to the Moon, to Mars, and whatever else comes up); it also needs a cheaper way to get crews to orbit and back; a modular approach will serve US needs better than the STS.