Russia’s terror bombing of Ukrainian cities may look like strength. Millions of people are refugees, and buildings have been reduced to rubble. But three weeks into Vladimir Putin’s disastrous error, the real story is Russia’s weakness.

The lack of blitz in Putin’s blitzkrieg no longer appears to be a failure of deployment. Instead, it seems to be a deficit of military power. True, the Russian leader miscalculated in thinking that the Zelensky government in Ukraine would cut and run, allowing Kyiv to fall into his hands. But the revised tactics the Kremlin is using now are emphatically not the tactics of a 21st-century fighting force.

Day One of Putin’s Folly, Feb. 24, is highly revealing in hindsight. Russia opened its invasion with a page from the superpower playbook as written by the United States and its allies in the 1991 Gulf War. Having amassed a large ground force, the Russians fired off precision-guided missiles to take out radars, antiaircraft batteries and runways across Ukraine.

The goal of such surgical strikes is to blind the enemy and ground its planes, giving the attacking force control of the skies. Air power then protects tanks and troops as they roll ahead with confidence.

As Justin Bronk of the Royal United Services Institute — one of the world’s oldest and best military think tanks — has observed: That never happened for Russia. Step 1 hasn’t led to Step 2. Russia did not establish air superiority. Its tanks and infantry immediately bogged down, allowing time for Ukrainian fighters to lay mines, fortify positions and plan ambushes.

Bronk noted this immediately and discussed it in a Feb. 28 essay titled “The Mysterious Case of the Missing Russian Air Force.” Analysts have been watching the skies since then, and little has changed. When Moscow’s official news agency, Tass, asserted total Russian air superiority, one could safely conclude that it would never happen.

In pondering the mysterious case, Bronk offered this data point: Russian air force pilots spend perhaps 100 hours per year in the air. That’s all a third-rate economy can afford. One hundred hours per year averages out to less than 20 minutes per day.

Russian “leadership may be hesitant to commit to large-scale combat operations which would show up the gap between external perceptions and the reality of their capabilities,” Bronk suggested. Despite huge expenditures for modern aircraft, Russian generals would rather leave them parked menacingly on runways than have them flown incompetently in battle.

The inability to follow up on its initial display of modern might illuminates another Russian weakness: Its precision munitions appear to be in short supply. Whether laser-guided or steered by GPS, smart bombs are increasingly the coin of the realm in 21st-century warfare. Even smaller Western militaries are amply stocked. Britain, for example, has roughly nine smart bombs for every dumb one in its arsenal, according to Exeter University defense expert Michael Clarke, who estimated in iNews that Russia’s ratio is the inverse: nine dumb bombs for every smart one.


This might explain recent Russian operations in Syria. As in Ukraine, Putin ordered indiscriminate bombing using outdated weapons. But some Western analysts speculated that Putin was doing this to sow confusion over whether Syria, rather than Russia, was inflicting the damage.

Now, Putin is showering dumb bombs on Ukraine, and the confusion is gone. His initial volley of precision munitions was, evidently, an exercise in let’s-pretend. And it might have worked — if Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had not stood fast. Instead, it appears Russia’s military is mired in 1970.

This brings up yet another weakness. Lacking precision-guided munitions, Russia must rely on relatively low-flying bombers and ground-based artillery for its assaults against Ukrainian cities. Inevitably, that means more targets for the Ukrainian resistance, which will produce more corpses of Russian soldiers and pilots — and more grief in the motherland


https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/15/ukraine-war-proves-russia-no-longer-a-superpower/

Russia has never been a superpower.
USSr was but not Russia..

What kind of a superpower has no economic influence, advance science and technology, etc.

I observed this from the beginning and have been saying this over and over that Russian military is overrated. It's an outdated military living on past glory when it was USSR.


Most of their munitions seems to be outdated ones they inherited from USSR.


Their ground troops are inexperienced and lack coordination.


This is what government corruption brings


Most Dictators focus more on amassing stupendous wealth to the extent they won't know when their looting and corruption will enter their national military leading to looting of national military budgets which renders their military powerless and out of date.



This happened to Saddam Hussein of Iraq, it happened to Gaddafi of Libya, it happened to Syrian Asaad, and now evident in Russia.


Corruption from Putin and his corrupt allies have finished Russia.



Russia's only bragging right now is nukes, if not for it, NATO would have invaded Russia to stop Putin. Putin should thank his stars Russia have nukes, if not, NATO would have chased him away like a house rat he is.

Hanks0000:
Russia has never been a superpower.
USSr was but not Russia..

What kind of a superpower has no economic influence, advance science and technology, etc.

Putinists are coming for you.

franchasng:
I observed this from the beginning and have been saying this over and over that Russian military is overrated. It's an outdated military living on past glory when it was USSR.


Most of their munitions seems to be outdated ones they inherited from USSR.


Their ground troops are inexperienced and lack coordination.


This is what government corruption brings


Most Dictators focus more on amassing stupendous wealth to the extent they won't know when their looting and corruption will enter their national military leading to looting of national military budgets which renders their military powerless and out of date.



This happened to Saddam Hussein of Iraq, it happened to Gaddafi of Libya, it happened to Syrian Asaad, and now evident in Russia.


Corruption from Putin and his corrupt allies have finished Russia.



Russia's only bragging right now is nukes, if not for it, NATO would have invaded Russia to stop Putin. Putin should thank his stars Russia have nukes, if not, NATO would have chased him away like a house rat he is.

you can say that again, including US, cause US lost a war to a ragtag army of Vietnam upon all the bombs they used on them which is more than what all the warring forces used in 2nd world war! Let's look up to China cause they're the next world super power

And what did the flight from Afghanistan prove?

Yes, Russian military is weak.

But let NATO declare a no-fly zone.

We want to check something

Una go see wonder.

Russia is no longer a world power ke.Are you kidding right now.
Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe in terms of land area and has one of the largest militaries in the continent. So Russia can't easily override them.
The casualties aren't that high since the conflict is between the Slavs and inside Europe
I'm sure that won't be the case if the war is fought against a country in Africa or the Middle East.

Hanks0000:
Russia has never been a superpower.
USSr was but not Russia..

What kind of a superpower has no economic influence, advance science and technology, etc.

Russia is using its gas and oil to squeeze the balls of Europe.
If that isn't an economic advantage, then I no know where you for graduate

Hanks0000:
Russia has never been a superpower.
USSr was but not Russia..

What kind of a superpower has no economic influence, advance science and technology, etc.

Well technically you’re right, USSR was the super power but then Russia inherited that status from the USSR hence why NATO keep expanding to contain it.

Yes they do have economic influence Atleast in Europe. If Russia sneeze Europe will go dark, also… advanced science and technology? Russia scientist are among the best on the world.

alcuin:
Yes, Russian military is weak.

But let NATO declare a no-fly zone.

We want to check something

Una go see wonder.

NATO won’t cos they know the Russians are not weak. Don’t mind these kids.

The moment NATO sees an opening, an opportunity to expose Russians weakness that will be the day they’d take over its nuke.
That being said; there’s only one true super power in our current world which is the US of A.

China is growing to be one, Russia is growing back to be one and fit back in the shoes of the USSR.

hayzed19:
Russia is no longer a world power ke.Are you kidding right now.
Ukraine is the second-largest country in Europe in terms of land area and has one of the largest militaries in the continent. So Russia can't easily override them.
The casualties aren't that high since the conflict is between the Slavs and inside Europe
I'm sure that won't be the case if the war is fought against a country in Africa or the Middle East.

It’s actually the largest country in Europe.

Vicotex2:

Russia is using its gas and oil to squeeze the balls of Europe.
If that isn't an economic advantage, then I no know where you for graduate

True that, plus their science and technology is top notch. No doubt!

Yes you are right bro
If we classify Russia as part of Eurasia

sunboy:


It’s actually the largest country in Europe.

In that logic USA is no longer a super power

They lost to farmers in Vietnam
Taliban in Afghanistan