How Weak Russia Has Defeated Strong NATO

A case study in how to do absolutely everything totally wrong

Image credit: motosha

First, a disclaimer: I am disgusted by, and ashamed of, the West’s supine cowardice in failing to crush Putin’s ramshackle military when it invaded its peaceful neighbor Ukraine twice in 2014 and then again on 24th February 2022, despite the USA and the UK having signed on 14th January 1994 a binding commitment to guarantee Ukrainian territorial integrity. I do not like the fact Russia is winning, so this is not an article in favor of Putin’s thuggish kleptocratic regime, nor do I think daily Russian war crimes against captives and civilians are a great demonstration of Russian cultural superiority.

The hard fact, however, is that Russia has effectively defeated NATO and made it impossible for the West to win a conflict against Russia for at least the next decade. This article will explain how, despite having literally every possible advantage over Russia in February 2022, NATO is now just a sad joke that lacks any capacity to deter further Russian expansionist wars.

So how did this astonishing turn of events come about? Given the obvious incapacity of the Russian military in February 2022 and the significant superiority of NATO forces in terms of equipment and training at that time, how did NATO manage to throw away every…