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No, You’re Not Imagining It: Russia’s Army Is Inept
Slate ^ | Feb 28, 2022 | Fred Kaplan

Posted on 02/28/2022 6:52:04 PM PST by Renfrew

Troops are trained in rote set pieces, with no time devoted to improvising if things don’t go as planned.

Military operations designed to take place sequentially—Step 1, then 2, then 3, etc.—fell apart, catastrophically. If Step 2 hit a big obstacle, the by-the-book soldiers moved on to Step 3 anyway. Therefore, large troop-transport planes tried to land, even though the airport hadn’t been completely secured and Ukrainian air defense systems hadn’t been destroyed. As a result, two Il-76 transport planes, each carrying 100 airborne troops, were shot down.

Tanks aren’t supposed to roll through hostile territory all alone. They need to be escorted by infantry troops alongside or by combat planes from above, to avoid getting ambushed. Yet, in this invasion, Russian tanks are rolling all on their own or providing protection for reconnaissance scouts, but getting no protection for themselves. So, as might be expected, lots of Russian tanks are getting ambushed.

(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: fredkaplan; lowmorale; putinsbuttboys; putinworshippers; russia; russianaggression; slate; ukraine
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To: Renfrew

Watched the videos. Didn’t see any tanks, saw a lot of humvee type vehicles and a what looked like a BMP.

Neither looked like a big column of tanks or the wreckage of a large airborne unit.

Still waiting.


101 posted on 02/28/2022 8:06:22 PM PST by M1911A1 (Drain The Swamp)
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To: Skywise

I believe you are on to something. There is a theory that you throw your cannon fodder into the front, take the measure of the enemy, and save your elite troops for the coup de grace,


102 posted on 02/28/2022 8:06:23 PM PST by hinckley buzzard ( Resist the narrative.)
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To: nickcarraway
One of the things that seems to be missed here is this is a cousin vs cousin war.

Many of the admirable traits of the WW2 Russian Army. doggedness on defense, extreme national zealotry, an indomitable toughness, and a willingness to make extreme self scarifies also are traits of the Ukrainians. After all they were part of that WW2 Russian army.

It may be foolish of us to underestimate the power of the Russia Army but by the same token it very foolish to underestimate the power of the Ukrainian Army.

The Ukrainians have a long and bitter history with Russia.

With in living memory some 5 million Ukrainian were deliberately starved to death by Stalin's Russian government. The West largely ignored or downplayed the Holodomor. For the Ukrainians it is an ever presents dark memory.

103 posted on 02/28/2022 8:07:52 PM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: buwaya

“They aren’t outnumbered 10:1. Effectively its only 3 or 4 to one, if Russia goes all hands on deck. But Russia cant do that, its got other “fronts” to watch, just in case. So its more like 2:1, assuming both sides mobilize proportionately to their population.”

It depends how you measure it, but military spending is a good way:
-Ukraine - $5.9 billion
-Russia - $62 billion


104 posted on 02/28/2022 8:08:22 PM PST by Renfrew
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To: MNJohnnie

And at least the Defense Minister of Ukraine is a Man, unlike the wussy Western European countries.


105 posted on 02/28/2022 8:08:52 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Skywise

“But at that point it’s an international failure regardless.”

And you believe Putin is concerned with international opinion? I’m betting he knew this would impact his Christmas card tally.


106 posted on 02/28/2022 8:12:49 PM PST by moehoward (.)
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To: ifinnegan

OK, but you did read the opening statement on your source, no?

The Zelensky government has worked to improve Ukraine’s record on the matter.


107 posted on 02/28/2022 8:14:39 PM PST by ScottinVA (Enough. Cage the libs.. now. )
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To: ScottinVA

And Russia is worse according the full report.

https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/2020-TIP-Report-Complete-062420-FINAL.pdf

Make you feel better?


108 posted on 02/28/2022 8:18:05 PM PST by ifinnegan (Democrats kill babies and harvest their organs to sell)
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To: MNJohnnie

Russia isn’t arming Cuba to the bone and when they were you darn Right America had something to say about it


109 posted on 02/28/2022 8:18:54 PM PST by wiseprince (Me,)
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To: ifinnegan

Nothing “makes me feel better” in this whole wretched mess.


110 posted on 02/28/2022 8:19:01 PM PST by ScottinVA (Enough. Cage the libs.. now. )
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To: dfwgator
I wonder where the Putin apologists are willing to draw the line.

The same arguments being made about Ukraine by Putin apply to Poland and Finland. So after accepting these absurdities now, there is no reason for them to support Poland or Finland.

111 posted on 02/28/2022 8:19:56 PM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: MagillaX

You go with years of watching this lead up to us entering and losing wars. When you know you know. Like 03 propaganda…..


112 posted on 02/28/2022 8:21:07 PM PST by TornadoAlley3 ( I'm Proud To Be An Okie From Muskogee)
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To: wiseprince

We went to war because a telegram suggested Mexico side with Germany, although there was never an indication it would ever happen, but that was enough.


113 posted on 02/28/2022 8:21:22 PM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: MNJohnnie

I’m not in the least bit embarrassed. I didn’t fall for a bunch of ridiculous propaganda like way too many supposed “Conservatives” did. Had I fallen for an obvious con, I would be embarrassed. It’s been a bunch of lies, just like how Putin “hacked” the 2016 election for Trump.


114 posted on 02/28/2022 8:22:25 PM PST by cdcdawg (Everyone who disagrees with me is a Qtard blogger!!!!)
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To: Renfrew

This is exactly what I heard from several sources before. The Russian army of inept conscripts, who have no idea where are they and what to do.
They are just supposed to show up and parade, while the enemy is supposed to fall apart from horror.


115 posted on 02/28/2022 8:22:43 PM PST by AZJeep (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0AHQkryIIs)
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To: Skywise

What happened to the Chechens, I wonder? I saw that they were being sent in.
Let’s pray he doesn’t get so desperate that he decides to nuke someone…


116 posted on 02/28/2022 8:31:59 PM PST by telescope115 (Proud member of the ANTIFAuci movement. )
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To: wiseprince
Well you are falling for an Putin propaganda lie. Giving them a few million in defensive weapons like anti tank and anti air missiles is hardly "arming them to the teeth".

The weapons deployed to Cuba were 1st strike nuclear missiles. That was resolved by diplomacy. After a show of force by the US, the Russians agreed to remove their missles from Cuba in exchange for the US removing their missles from Turkey,

Where are you Putin apologists willing to draw the line? The same arguments being made about Ukraine by Putin apply to Poland and Finland. So after accepting this, I am guessing you also will support Russia invading those two nations?

117 posted on 02/28/2022 8:32:58 PM PST by MNJohnnie (They would have abandon leftism to achieve sanity. Freeper Olog-hai)
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To: Renfrew

Since Fred isn’t there and is probably basing his information on what he sees on Cable News I will discount this story. No reliable news is to be had it seems.


118 posted on 02/28/2022 8:34:30 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood (https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3804407/posts?)
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To: MinorityRepublican

[Quantity has a quality all its own. The Russians managed to conquer a huge empire and subjugate many nationalities in their lands. They were never good at logistics and tactics but ultimately they prevailed.]


Most of that huge empire was acquired in wars against Tartaric horse nomads. Russia’s principal advantage in the venture was geographical contiguity, combined with the revolution in military affairs introduced with the Gunpowder Revolution. Musket-armed infantry combined with cannon now overmatched the pastoral bow-armed raiders whom Genghis Khan had forged into a once-irresistible force. Against similarly-armed European powers, Russian gains were much more circumscribed. If Gustaf Adolf


119 posted on 02/28/2022 8:34:52 PM PST by Zhang Fei (My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room.)
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To: proxy_user

It really was worse than that. If you tried to turn back you were shot. Stalin used his armies as cannon fodder, competent commanders could have done better, but that was not to be. Stalin never took one trip to the front during the war.


120 posted on 02/28/2022 8:37:21 PM PST by Captain Peter Blood (https://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3804407/posts?)
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