Thread by @MassDara

The Russian military’s stumbles in Ukraine do not end at technical equipment issues, poor training, or corruption. Something is still wrong within the force, no matter how extensively it has been modernized. My latest, below. (1/x) foreignaffairs.com/articles/russi… via @ForeignAffairs

The Russian military’s stumbles in Ukraine are linked by a core underlying theme and unresolved problem: the continued disregard for the lives and wellbeing of its personnel (2/x)

In the war so far, Russia has struggled to accomplish basic functions like retrieving the bodies of its dead, or treating scared Russian military families with dignity. (3/x)

With indifference so vast that Russian commanders can * actually shrug* in the face of a grieving father, what other core warfighting competencies is that military culture indifferent to ? (4/x) mil.in.ua/en/news/parent…

With an antipathy and annoyance to the tears of grieving mothers--that has largely continued unchecked over multiple conflicts for 40 years-- how can the Russian military claim it is capable of learning and evolving? (5/x)ft.com/content/15e8c7…

With a distrust of its subordinates so deep that it kept its invasion plans a secret from many of its rank and file soldiers until the night before, how can the Russian military expect them to be combat effective? (6/x)

(This story is no longer posted at Novaya Gazeta due to crackdowns in Russia - it can be found here 7/x) ukrrudprom.com/digest/Mama_ya… )

The problem for Russia’s military is not necessarily the modernized and functional equipment abandoned in Ukrainian fields. The problem is a culture of indifference to their own human capital, despite their efforts to improve over the last decade (8/x).

If the Russian military disregards the wellbeing of its troops, what else does it not care about? Inadequate planning, logistics, poor unit discipline, for starters. With horrific results for Ukrainian civilians that it encounters in a war zone (9/x)

https://twitter.com/CITeam_en/status/1499361692261756945?s=20&t=ZDfXeBnFKvnB_Ersl3RtyQ

In Russia there are patriotic banners, military funerals, and vigils for the dead. More telling is how the military behaves when it thinks no one is watching: antipathy and failures to treat many Russian soldiers’ families with dignity continues. (10/x) meduza.io/en/feature/202…

The Russian military stands to lose more than the all the destroyed equipment. Its professional enlisted personnel program is barely 20 years old and relies on the prestige of military service and social trust that the MOD worked on for 10+ years. (11/x) rand.org/pubs/research_…

It is still too soon to tell how much jeopardy Russia’s professional enlisted program is in or if recruitment and retention will be affected, or if Russian families will return to the old ways of keeping their sons safe from the draft. (12/x) theguardian.com/world/2022/mar…

This intercepted call from a soldier to his wife, if authentic, holds a warning to Russian leaders. He’s worried he might not survive and is discussing his last wishes for their young son (13/x) t.me/SBUkr/4083

Excerpt: "You have to make sure he doesn’t join the Army […] Ask Mom to get Uncle Gena involved to do everything within his power to make sure he doesn’t join the Army. This will be my last…thing that I want.” (14/end).