Putin Miscalculated On Military Because He Confused Models Of New Weapons And Rearmament Of Army – OpEd

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Putin made “a crude strategic miscalculation” when he overrated the capability of the Russian military to take on Ukraine, confusing the models of new weapons which the military-industrial complex was happy to show him with the rearmament of the military with them, Vladimir Pastukhov says.

To put it in more lapidary language, the London-based Russian analyst says, the Kremlin leader failed to make the necessary distinction between a parade and an actual war and so failed to see that the new weapons he was being shown were not being produced and adopted by his military as a whole (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=62549C9B8F707).

As a result, Pastukhov says, Putin failed to understand that his very large army was in fact one of World War II vintage and that if it were confronted by a military with contemporary weapons, it would be in very serious trouble. Given that the West has provided Ukraine with such weapons, Russia’s military is “bogged down in the Ukrainian steppe like a wasp in syrup.”

One is compelled to ask, the London analyst says, “how could this happen?” He suggests that it did because of Putin’s childish passion for playing soldiers and his proclivity to speak to defense designers rather than talk with the producers of military hardware. The former could show him shiny new weapons; the latter would explain why the army doesn’t have them.

It is not the case that the designers lied to Putin, but it is certain they misled him because they did not tell the whole story; and that is this: “Russia has always been able to make weapons,” and the backlog today from Soviet times means that it will be able to do so for some time into the future.

But shiny models “don’t win wars.” Real conflicts are won “with mass-produced weapons the army is actually equipped with in numbers that a war requires.” To achieve that, Pastukhov points out, the entire defense establishment needs to be transformed – and that is something its leadership under Putin doesn’t want or feel at all compelled to do.

And the explanation for that is simple as well: When a state is nothing more than a bandit, one can hardly expect its army to be modern. “Whatever a state is, so too will be its military.”

Paul Goble

Paul Goble is a longtime specialist on ethnic and religious questions in Eurasia. Most recently, he was director of research and publications at the Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy. Earlier, he served as vice dean for the social sciences and humanities at Audentes University in Tallinn and a senior research associate at the EuroCollege of the University of Tartu in Estonia. He has served in various capacities in the U.S. State Department, the Central Intelligence Agency and the International Broadcasting Bureau as well as at the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Mr. Goble maintains the Window on Eurasia blog and can be contacted directly at [email protected] .

3 thoughts on “Putin Miscalculated On Military Because He Confused Models Of New Weapons And Rearmament Of Army – OpEd

  • April 20, 2022 at 2:25 am
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    Liked the comment about the Russian army trapped in the Ukraine steppe, like a wasp in syrup.
    A point, not discussed, was russian intelligence failure , although I suppose Putin was encouraged by the relatively easy way he acquired crimea and eastern ukraine. The other more underhand encouragement to Putin was the export of weaponry Russia by France, Germany and Italy, in order of value of exports. Those weapon exports were despite an embargo after 2014, when Russia first invaded ukraine. To Putin, this, after invading ukraine, meant business as usual even after the invasion.

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  • April 20, 2022 at 7:11 am
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    What models of new weapons are you specifically referring to? Russia has used new missiles type (Kh-47M2 Kinzhal, 3M-54 Kalibr, 9K720 Iskander, TOS-1A weapon system) in combat with great efficiency. Yes, Putin seriously miscalculated Ukrainian willingness to fight but what you are saying makes no sense. Putin is still one of the most powerful person in the world who is smart enough to realize what models of weapons his military is equipped with.

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  • February 22, 2023 at 5:50 am
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    What Putin doesn’t understand about himself is that he is already a historical figure. The country he is fighting for is gone. The Russian people who are relevant now are personally empowered by their intelligence, skills and ability to manage information and communications with the rest of the world and are aware that they, like everybody else not mired in the past, can expect quality of life based on their work ethic, life choices and commitment to their families and their future. The gray slave generation still voting for the USSR will be dust in the wind in 20 years and Putin will be nothing but a few extra motes in that cloud. There is still time to fix this but the solution will not come from accommodating Putin’s relentless ego. Wake up old Russia your hero is lying to you.

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