The war in Ukraine is far from over. But the Ukrainian victory over the Russian army in the battle for Kyiv was epic and will be famous for centuries.. She will be remembered alongside the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, the Battle of Yorktown in 1781, the Battle of Izandalvan in 1879, the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 and the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954.. Simply put, on a par with every fight in which a smaller force defeated a more powerful opponent..

How Ukraine managed to drive the Russian army out of the Kyiv suburbs, even though before the Russian invasion, it was widely believed that the Ukrainian capital would be captured in a few days?

American military historian and journalist Max Booth writes about this on the pages of the Washington Post.. He points out that all the samples of advanced weapons that the West handed over to the Ukrainian army attracted a lot of attention.. In particular, Javelin anti-tank systems and Stinger missiles. But Russia also has the latest weapons. The real Ukrainian advantage lies in the military culture, which, of course, reflects the culture of society as a whole..

All the numerous shortcomings of the Russian army were put on display harshly during this unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.. Among them are corruption, brutality, low morale, poor planning, failed logistics, poor intelligence, and lack of coordination between units.. Command is too centralized. And junior officers and sergeants do not show any initiative. These are not some new difficulties.. And Moscow is unlikely to be able to solve them in the near future. An 1854 article by The Economist explains the reasons for Russia's early defeats in the Crimean War, which, by the way, also took place on the territory of Ukraine.. But if you read it now, it might seem that it describes the modern failures of the Russian army..

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Two vulnerabilities in the Russian military pointed out by The Economist 168 years ago are particularly different.. First: “The Russian army often exists only on paper. The colonels and officers of the commissariat are directly interested in having as many numbers as possible in the books, and as few as possible on the battlefield.. Because they pocket their salaries and rations for the difference between these figures.”. Second: " And all because usually a Russian private was a guy who was “torn away from his family and native land, they are drilled with whips, the officers launched him, he is fed black bread, if fed at all, he is always without any comfort and very often without boots at all”. The Economist linked these pathologies to the " The publication noted that "

As they say, as you sow, so shall you reap.. The modern reader can discard these lines, deciding that the national character of Russia has remained unchanged for centuries.. But a remnant of The Economist's old analysis is still relevant today.. This is explained by the fact that Russia has been under the rule of a cruel and corrupt dictatorship for almost its entire history.. And now it hasn't changed.

Governance deficiencies may explain poor Russian performance in every conflict. Russia lost in the Crimean War (1953-1856), as well as in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), the First World War (1914-1918), the war in Afghanistan (1979-1989), and also in the First Chechen War (. The major Russian victories - in the Napoleonic Wars and in World War II - were won only if the enemy was stupid enough to spread his forces on Russian territory, or with the support of allies from the West..

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The Ukrainian army suffered for many years from the same problems as the Russian one.. But after 2014, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the state were reformed according to the Western, democratic model.

Politico notes that the Western training of the Ukrainian military, as well as their own combat experience gained in the Donbass over the past 8 years, has led to the abandonment of the old Soviet vertical of command that paralyzes the Russian army. Instead, a "

Russia is likely to be able to gather forces for a new offensive in the Donbass, although it will take time. But she can't change her losing war culture. Therefore, according to Bout, Ukraine will win the war if the West provides it with the necessary weapons and ammunition..