Should Russia actually lose in Ukraine, this bear won’t be declawed. Russia will learn from its mistakes, and possibly even be battle-hardened albeit battered in the process. Nations often come back stronger from tough fights, as the military undergoes reforms to address shortcomings. It is a nuclear power, has been more successful than the United States in developing hypersonic weapons, and still has a sizeable force of submarines and combat aircraft. The United States and NATO would be unwise to believe that Russia isn’t still a significant threat. That helped convinced Nazi Germany that it would quickly roll over the Soviet Red Army, which did take significant losses and faced serious setbacks in the early stages of the Nazi invasion, but the Soviets came back stronger than ever. Instead, the “ Winter War” dragged on for months, and the Soviets looked weaker for it. It faced a determined enemy that it thought it would quickly defeat. The Soviet Union showed that it was largely unprepared when it launched its assault on Finland in 1939. It might be easy to dismiss Russia given its setbacks in Ukraine, but history offers a reminder that Moscow has overcome far worse. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine may have revealed significant problems with its military’s logistics, command and control, and even attempts to maintain control of the skies. “We will learn more and more … to really make an assessment of how we need to think about the Russians in the future,” Gen. told reporters March 3 at an Air Force Association conference in Orlando, Air Force Times reported. “I don’t know that, for me personally, it’s really changed my perspective,” Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Officials from the United States Air Force have also made it clear that Russia’s setbacks won’t give them reason to rethink existing strategy or spending. Across the alliance, member states are increasing defense spending, while Sweden and Finland are moving ever closer to joining the alliance. What is clear is that even if Russia has shown itself to be more of a paper tiger than a mighty bear, NATO won’t – and shouldn’t – let its guard down. Russia has also lost as many soldiers in Ukraine as the United States lost in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001! Russian casualties have mounted, and its combat losses after just three weeks have already overtaken Soviet casualties in Afghanistan over a nine-year period beginning in 1979. Russian tanks have been destroyed in ambushes, while others have been reportedly “stolen” by Ukrainian farmers who have used tractors to tow them away. Perhaps Romney was right, even if Russia’s performance in Ukraine has shown considerable shortcomings. Romney also recalled his past warnings, adding, “The ’80s called, and we didn’t answer.”
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