Why is Russia’s Military Failing? How Much Has Ukraine Destroyed it?

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) There is little question that the Russian military has been decimated during the Ukraine war.

In fact, some have even raised the question as to whether the world greatly overestimated the capabilities of the Russian military.

But just how badly is Putin’s war machine damaged?

Poor Russian Military Performance

Given its poor use of Combined Arms, smaller amount of modernized platforms, and weapons compared with the U.S., and ineffective warzone tactics regarding supplies and integrated attack formations, it is not unrealistic to pose the question of whether Russia’s military is a “paper tiger.”

Russia does appear to have some extremely advanced technology in the realm of hypersonics, 5th-generation aircraft, and its next-generation T-14 Armata tank.

However, Russia does not appear to possess these weapons in numbers sufficient to “mass” power and truly rival NATO and the U.S. Published reports in the Russian media say their military only operates a handful of T-14s and Su-57s and may lack the funding and industrial capacity to build a large fleet.

Arming Russia’s Forces

Available statistics on Russia’s military published in Global Firepower state that Russia operates as many as 12,000 tanks and 773 fighter jets. However, what percentage of these have been maintained, modernized, and kept viable for modern war is uncertain. That may remain somewhat of a question mark, especially because Russian tanks have been getting decimated in Ukraine in large and impactful numbers.