Before Russia’s war of attrition against Ukraine, Russia’s army was described as the second strongest in the world, behind the United States. It was assumed that a comprehensive modernisation of the armed forces had taken place after the Georgian war in 2008 and the shortcomings that emerged there. And the hybrid form of Russian warfare, also known as the „Gerasmiov Doctrine“ was notorious. Especially after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which was contrary to international law, a connection of meaning between Gerasimov’s speech from 2013 and Russian actions in Ukraine was made retrospectively. This happened in several countries, but to different degrees. What is common, however, is that the fighting power of the Russian army – both in the classical sense and in terms of its hybrid capacities – was generally overestimated. Some analysts predicted that Kyiv would probably fall in three days. Almost a year after the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, which violated international law, one can thus ask the question: What does Russia’s power potential look like today? Russia in the Bear Trap? An analysis of The Russian Military Capabilities weiterlesen