[DUMBGRUNT]

—” In addition to fighting for their county on their own soil with better weapons than the Russians, Ukrainians have modern, NATO style organization and doctrine that emphasize maneuver, flexibility, and rapid decision-making.”

All that and a cadre of NCOs that are well-trained, tested, and allowed to think on their feet!
And that is a very big deal.

https://mwi.usma.edu/the-plas-weak-backbone-is-china-struggling-to-professionalize-its-noncommissioned-officer-corps/

[Rockingham]

Good point. Russia and China never developed a reliable and effective Western-style NCO systems. As autocratic nations, both find good NCOs problematic because they tend to be loyal to and advocate for their troops when officers or the state mistreat them. That was the reason why the USSR had weak NCOs with political officers to keep watch on the troops and the NCOs.