Russian Failures in Ukraine are a lesson for America
Russian military failures in Ukraine offer lessons American leaders and strategists need to learn. Unfortunately, media reports give a terrible picture of the situation that hides Russian military failures.
For example, a 23 April 2024 Guardian article has the headline “Russian forces make significant gains in eastern Ukraine.” Unfortunately, the article does not say how much territory Russian forces have captured.
However, a map shows the “significant Russian gains” are a sliver of territory about six miles long and a half a mile wide. This sliver could contain a portion of the village of Ocheretyne. The Institute for the Study War (ISW) map shows Russian and Ukrainian claims of territory captured. Both are small.
Both the Russian and Ukrainian estimates show it took Russian forces about 20 days to advance nine miles. Ukraine’s Eastern Military Command estimates it took 20,000 to 50,000 Russian soldiers to capture those gains. I do not consider these significant gains. Instead they are pathetic.
Futile Military Operations
Even Russian President Vladimir Putin could realize how futile continued military operations are. Putin has ordered Russian troops to capture the administrative borders of the Donetsk region, The Guardian claims. That…
