Why Russia is Losing Everywhere: Ukraine, Syria, and Beyond

When Russia concentrates most of its force on a singular target, as they have now for years in Ukraine, we see that it does not spell-out a quick Russian victory. Now with Russia's global projects - including Ukraine, Syria, Georgia, Moldova, and in Africa - receiving heavy pushback, Moscow simply does not have the capacity to respond to all of the five alarm fires at the same time. Does this mean that there are cracks beginning to show in the Kremlin's global strategy?

Chuck Pfarrer, one of America's most renowned and respected military authors and analysts, discusses with Kyiv Post's Jason Smart why Russia is showing all of the signs of having fallen into a quagmire with no strategy or hope of being able to get out. Pfarrer, having been a former Squadron Leader of SEAL Team 6, explains why the failure of Russia's attempted attack is indicative of a larger, systematic breakdown within the Russian military. Russian troops are becoming ever more wary of throwing their lives away in "meat-assaults," but does Russia know any other way to wage war? Pfarrer, who has advised numerous US national security agencies and is a leading figure in the analysis of the war in Ukraine, is a new special correspondent for the Kyiv Post. Here, he explains why Russia’s losses so far have been disastrous and why an abysmal summer awaits the Kremlin. Russia fundamentally lacks the soldier-scholar model of officer leadership that would allow for it to process why it is losing and to devise solutions. Instead, Russia will continue to just bleed itself dry. After his service in the US Navy, Pfarrer served public and private sector clients as a military and counter-terrorism contractor and non-proliferation expert. Pfarrer has written extensively on counter-WMD proliferation and gray zone operations. He has written an op-ed for the New York Times and the Knight-Ridder Syndicate and has appeared as a writer and counterterrorism expert on CNN, ABC, MSNBC, Fox, CSPAN, NPR, Voice of America, Al Jazeera, Al Hurra, IPR, and America tonight. Despite Russia loudly bragging that it is winning, the reality is that things are quite different on the field of battle.

Chuck can be followed on

Dr. Jason Jay Smart can be followed:
LinkedIn: /jasonjaysmart

Chapters:
0:00 Intro
01:00 Russian Advances in Southern Ukraine
02:30 High losses and the lack of a coherent Russian plan
04:00 Kursk Oblast Conflict
06:30 North Korean Troops in Ukraine
08:00 Russian Retreats in Syria
10:00 Georgia: Rising Protests
12:00 Russia’s Global Struggles
14:00 Winter’s Impact on Russian Troops
16:00 Looking Ahead to Spring 2025

[planmet]

The Georgia Legion fighting with Ukraine has said that they are going back to Georgia to help support the rioters. And these guys also have guns.

[jeremyallard]

Great Interview Jason and Chuck, please keep up the good work? Slava Ukraine.

[shmuelman]

As always, Jason delivers some of the best interviews and analysis on Ukraine.

[vladpootin]

The honorable Mr. Pfarrer is always a delight to listen to, he truly is a prime example and stellar real American !

[bc-guy]

Always a pleasure to listen to Chuck's view as I always agree! Informative and encouraging; Chuck's experience adds to the credibility of his talk. It's one conflict from Ukraine to Africa, just different players.
Another great job Jason!

[fredjenkins]

Thank you for furnishing us with Mr. Pfarrer's very competent insights.

[markmorris]

That's Excellent news Chuck it's great to hear the Bullies are on their way down ❤.

[hotlineoperator]

They are bullies, they stay strong until someone challenges them.

[petracastro]

At the moment Putin won't invade Georgia or Moldova - because he's busy enough with Ukraine and now Syria. I completely agree, we should give Ukraine everything to defeat Putin now, when he's weak! If we'll give him time to recover - we all know what will happen.
Unfortunately it's not very popular, neither in Europe nor in the US to send troops in order to help Ukraine (exception: France and Poland). But this is what we should do!

[stephenrickstrew]

As the Great Roberto Clemente said …When things are going good, it’s good .. But … When things go bad .. they go really really Bad … seemingly exponentially so for the Rooskies…

[Mr_Rob_otto]

This gave me hope for peace, freedom and Justice to prevail 🇺🇦🇬🇪🇺🇸

[changurr]

not 'thrown out a window' there is a word for this 'Russian oligarchs and generals face definistration'

[gregash]

With multiple war fronts and diverse enemies, Russia may not survive into 2025. Military assets are diminishing, with over seas deployment a significant factor. As more and more mercenaries work for Moscow, Putin's strategic plans may be compromised, both on the Ukrainian front and elsewhere. When thinking about the past three years, the 'Weather Wars' are often ignored. In the first years of the war, Russia believed it could win on the sales of natural gas. That didn't happen as both 2022 and 2023 were relatively mild winters allowing the Europeans to switch to LNG and avoid a crisis. The forecast for 2024 looks a lot different with exceptionally cold weather impacting the northern oil and gas fields, placing greater demands on electric generation and centralized heating, and a exposing a mix of untrained conscripts and foreign mercenaries to a death by freezing on the battlefields. The sinister word: 'hypothermia' caught my attention with your comments about 'soldiers sleeping on the ground'. While quietly freezing to death is not a painful departure, but it is preceded with poor thinking, a loss of focus, and foolish decisions. Isolated soldiers in a trench are one thing, but tank and artillery crews working with radar and surveillance teams need to be alert and able to coordinate activities without compromise. When lulls on the battlefront slow life down, the cold prompts alcohol consumption leading to intoxication, unconsciousness, and death.

[RandoplhMabb]

Aleppo is also a morale booster for the rebels... they got bombed into the stone age by the russians, syrians iranians and turks back in 2016.... like Mccarther, they returned....

[yoda]

All the troll comments seem to indicate that this channel is hitting the mark every time. That being the case, I have subscribed.

[ramjet]

Thank you Chuck,
Another valuable summary of how Russia is losing.
Everyone, needs to remember how Russians in Ukraine have
have suddenly retreated and Ukraine gained wide areas.

Now real patriotic Americans need to tell Donald Trump
that Putin is approaching the typical end of past dictators.

[knowthyselfknowthyenemy]

Chuck is 100% a man crush of mine. Long live a free Ukraine 🇺🇦

[marie-vj]

Thank you for a great positive interview!!!👏🏻👍🏻💪🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇬🇧

[ericchild]

We need more guys like Chuck in the USA. Proud to call him a fellow American. Now, if he would just run for Congress we could get rid of the cancer there, aka: Moscow Mike Johnson.

[tomwende]

Great discussion, gentlemen, many thanks. I think that Chuck is completely correct to keep his eyes on Georgia (says some guy on the Internet, I know). However, I think that we also need to look closely at the election in Romania. It reeks of interference and it's a potential calamity for Moldova.