War in Ukraine: why is Russia’s army so weak?

As Russia celebrates Victory Day, our defence correspondent considers why the Russian army has performed so badly in Ukraine.

00:00 - The poor performance of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine
00:40 - Why has the Russian army struggled in Ukraine?
02:00 - What’s behind Russia’s brutal warfare?
03:27 - Donbas: the next frontier

[rbrown]

Speaking of undisciplined, nothings changed. My late Polish mother-in-law, who lived on a farm during WW II, said that Germans could be brutal but were highly disciplined and methodical. In comparison, the Russian “soldiers” that came later were wild savages. Years later, she and her husband saw no future for their children under communism and moved to Canada. It was a very brave of them, especially since they had to sell everything they owned, they only spoke Polish, and the family had 5 children, including a 10-month-old who eventually became my wife.

[royw-g]

Reminds me of Japanese in WW2 where the army and Navy hated each other. If the Navy witnessed a US air attack heading towards a Japanese army base, they would not warn them as “that was the army’s problem”.

[franks.]

When I was a young officer many years ago, most everyone of my senior NCO'S were my dad's age and been on active duty longer than I had been alive at the time. It never occurred to me that I needed to tell them what to do. I simply shared my advice and technical knowledge, removed obstacles and barriers to their success, provided the best equipment and supplies, and then stayed out if their way for some autonomy. Couldn't imagine doing it so well without NCO's.

[toddknode]

as a former US Marine who rose to the exalted rank of E3 I can't imagine how much of a shitshow my Company would have been if it were solely composed of 6 officers and 100 junior enlisted.

[ps]

corruption, incompetence, pathetic planning, appalling logistic, low morale, evil cause.

[dongilleo]

The current Russian military inherited the worst flaws and weaknesses from the Soviet Union era military, which in turn inherited the worst flaws and weaknesses from the old Tsarist military.
In Tsarist Russia 120 years ago, enlisted men were forced to serve, with low pay, little respect or privilege, poor living conditions, bad food, inadequate supplies and commanded by officers chosen not on ability or competency, but by political and family connections. The same general conditions existed in the Soviet military, and it's probably still much the same today.

[rogerforsberg]

At least a handful of the very astute commenters to this video have observed how critical it is for a modern army to have NCOs, i.e., noncommissioned officers. When I went through the US Army's OCS over 50 years ago I learned the quote from Ike, i.e., GEN Dwight Eisenhower about just how critical NCOs were to the day-to-day functioning of the US Army. Ike said that sergeants run the Army -- an observation which may not be true in principle, but which is completely true in practice.

[Collector_Cars]

Also worth noting is the lack of proper equipment across all areas (i.e. cheap quality tyres, radios etc, rations) due to years of high-level corruption where investments were siphoned off by those in charge.

[malcolmsimmons]

Sir,
You hit the proverbial nail on the head when you spoke of the Russian military lacking the layer of NCO's and that being an issue.
I am a US Marine and served 2004-2012. One thing our superiors drilled into us from day one was the importance of small unit leadership and that comes from NCO's, E-4, E-5. We were able and trusted to make our own decisions to achieve the mission. The battle is fluid and rapid so decisions have to be made fluidly and rapidly. You have adapt to the changing battlefield more decisively and rapidly than your enemy. That cannot be achieved through layers of command. But for this to even be effective you have to trust your NCOs. I personally wouldn't trust any of the Russians to make decisions.

[Mygg_Jeager]

"Who needs logistics?"
~Putin, probably.

[AJ-qngd]

We all thought that Russia had the second best Army in the world it turns out they’ve got the second best army in Ukraine 👍🏻🇬🇧🇺🇦

[Psitau]

I like how well-spoken this man is -- sophisticated, clear, and uses understandable vocabulary.

Would love to see more of him!

[MrJetmech]

The number ONE key element in this conflict: Sooner or later EVERY front line soldier in every war asks themselves "For what reason am I exposing myself to death? Why?" And for the Ukrainians it is clear and obvious. Survival. For the Russian soldier there is NO answer, only the realization that Putin's ego drives are the actual contest. That is a very difficult conclusion to face.

[tag]

As an officer, the idea of not having NCOs' to assist in delivering a plan and providing Subject Matter me

[rido]

In WWII, the Russian lost a lot of soldiers not only as a result of the German invasion, but the lack of a well organized and caring army. Soldiers are expendable in the Russian army. They fight as ordered, even if it means a certain death. Self initiative is not encouraged in Russian society. The mentality hasn't changed since the USSR colapsed. Russian society was and still is the elite ruling over the common peasant.

[lalashwante]

When you fight for your life, you will be as strong as a lion, when you want to punish someone who is smaller than you, even one punch will hurt your first. That is my own experience . The Russian army cannot fight wholeheartedly where as Ukrainian fight for their survival.

[bluecanary]

Endemic corruption has long been Russia’s problem. For all that Putin may find this frustrating and/or be angered by it he should remember that a fish rots from the head.

[Mark-mlnv]

Sending missiles into schools and hospitals and theatres where civilians are sheltered is not a random act by conscripts.

[jeremy]

I've watched documentaries about how poorly Russia has ignored there equipment's basic upkeep on there subs, battle ships, tanks and so on so it really doesn't surprise me with how well Ukraine is doing

[chrisanderson]

I've heard the normal stay in the Russian army rarely exceeds 3 years due to poor morale, pay, bullying etc. It means there is little in the way of accumulated memory in the larger force outside the very top ranked officers, they have no way to teach or pass on any combat experience because it just doesn't exist, there are almost no 25 year veteran soldiers that carry on the memory of how to fight.