Military experts have investigated which strategic principles and methods of military actions stand out in both armies. Both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian Army have their pros and cons. Which of them will be decisive?
There are two fundamental differences between the actions of the Ukrainian and Russian armies:
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine shows signs of a new generation army;
- The Russians emphasize the methods that were used during the Second World War.
Although this sounds like a clear advantage of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in practice everything is much deeper.
Tactics
The Ukrainians chose mobile defense. It is a method when the enemy is lured into the depths of battle formation to defensively prepared areas. In the first stage, the enemy has the illusion of a successful attack, and then the offensive unit is defeated.
Russian troops use the tactic of wave-like attacks, which was the main one during the Second World War. It needs time to recover between attacks when units are exhausted and need rearming. An example of a wave-like attack is the attempt to attack Bakhmut. This operation is similar to the actions of the USSR army in the Konigsberg area.
Obsession
In the Russian army, there are requirements for the acquisition of borders or special reporting by certain dates. This is a losing tactic in advance because it forces the troops to win at any cost and at the wrong time, which increases losses.
Equipment and weapons
At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Armed Forces of Ukraine experienced a large shortage of weapons, but the situation leveled off every month. Today, the modernity of weapons plays a decisive role.
The technological capabilities of the parties are different:
- Ukraine is supplied with new model equipment from various countries. Its main advantages are high accuracy and safety.
- Russia is subject to international sanctions. It was almost completely cut off from access to the main sources of technology.
The technological advantage is gradually shifting to Ukraine.
Living power
Russia is a huge country and has a greater human resources. This is a very important factor. It can afford significant losses that are easy to recover.
However, there is another side of the coin: large losses among soldiers demoralize much more than the loss of equipment, even cutting-edge ones. This is a matter of internal state policy, but it also has an impact on the course of the war. The morale of the fighters often becomes a defining moment.
