Ukraine 2022: A Tale of Three (Russian) Soldiers

Equipment Variability Among Russian Soldiers

The quality in equipment for Russian contract soldiers in 2022 varied depending on which Military District they came from. If we take as an example a soldier from the Western or Southern District, he was very well equipped indeed. As well-equipped as they were, however, Russian professional soldiers lacked real combat experience. As such, they did not initially perform well (There were exceptions and there were many other factors involved).

VDV troops were well-equipped, well-disciplined, and were overall better fighting troops. Unfortunately for them, they had to be used as firefighters/heavy infantrymen: Many times, they were deployed as the tip of the spear on the offensive and had to plug gaps on the defensive to remedy the lack of quality of the average Russian soldier. This translated into a greater casualty rate.

Role and Casualties of Ukrainian Separatists

Then, there were Ukrainian separatists from the LNR/DPR militias. Those were probably the worst equipped soldiers within the Russian armed forces. But they were battle-hardened by years of skirmishes with the AFU and therefore (for the most part) consistently performed better than their professional counterparts. They, too, bore the brunt of many initial battles and therefore suffered disproportionate casualty rates: In the first year of the war, separatist forces experienced 20,000 KIA/WIA out of a “prewar” army size of… 20,000!!!

Adaptation and Modernization of the Russian Armed Forces

This explains why some western experts say that the Russian armed forces are better today than they were when they started the war: Despite large losses in manpower and hardware, they learned and adapted. They are now battle-hardened: Weak or bad leaders have been swept away. Training and tactics have been adapted. They have learned (and are still learning) and adapted. War is the harshest teacher of them all.

The Russian armed forces are probably not as well-equipped now as they were in 2021 (less modern equipment due to losses). But they have become more lethal and more resilient.

Not included in the description above: Russian SF, Russian National Guard, and the “Kadyrovites.”

-RBM