On the day of Zelensky's visit to the United States on December 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin held an enlarged meeting of the Ministry of Defense, saying that there is no financial limit for this war and that the military will respond to requests.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu also introduced a series of military reform plans and put forward a series of detailed proposals for increasing the number of troops, including increasing the number of military personnel to 1.5 million and maintaining the existing system of conscription and contract soldiers.
At the same time, Russia is also starting to strengthen military production and logistics maintenance capabilities. Shoigu said that the Russian Ministry of Defense will pay necessary attention to the development of military necessities and its industries, supervise the implementation progress of state procurement, and require relevant units to adjust their work schedules , the most urgently needed products must be delivered by 2023.
Putin's important aide Medvedev was also appointed as the first vice-chairman of the Russian Military Industry Committee, the purpose of which is to strengthen Russia's military industrial capabilities.
These actions of Putin are obviously making systematic adjustments around the ongoing war in Ukraine, hoping to get rid of the difficulties encountered by the Russian army on the frontline battlefield.
Since the start of the Ukrainian war in February this year, the Russian army has been defeated repeatedly on the front line, and its war goals have been repeatedly shrunk. Especially in recent months, it has experienced three major defeats and important strategic targets have been repeatedly attacked. It can be described as extremely passive.
So, will the above actions allow Russia to get out of its military dilemma and finally win the war in Ukraine?
The picture shows that on December 22, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended a State Council meeting on promoting youth policies at the Kremlin, and gestured during his speech.
(AP)
The answer is probably no.
The reason is that the problems Russia encounters are not problems that can be solved simply by expanding the military or strengthening military production and logistics maintenance capabilities, but systematic military command, military technology, and fighting will.
The first thing Russia should think about is why, facing the sudden attack of the powerful German army, the Soviet Red Army could face death as if it were home, march forward, and devote itself to the desperate struggle with the German army with a decisive attitude, but this time it faced the much weaker Ukrainian army. He showed a lack of fighting spirit, collapsed at the touch of a touch on many battlefields, and even retreated.
On this most fundamental issue, if Russia does not understand, or avoids inspection because of political correctness in Russia, I am afraid that it will face more passive situations in the future.
Russia should realize that military production and logistical maintenance capabilities are very important, but they are not the most fundamental factors that determine the outcome of a war. Otherwise, the powerful Soviet army and the US army would not have retreated from Afghanistan in embarrassment.
At the same time, it should also realize that in a frontal military confrontation like Russia and Ukraine, before there is an iterative gap between military technology and combat concepts, the number of soldiers can fill the gap between technology and concepts, but once there is an iterative gap between military technology and combat concepts, the number of soldiers will It has been difficult to fill the combat capability gap created by the gap.
The war that the Russian army is now fighting in Ukraine is not only a war with the Ukrainian regular army, but also a war with the proxy of the entire NATO headed by the United States. It is a civil war.
In order to make up for war losses and shortage of combatants, Russia can certainly expand its military to 1.5 million or more. I believe that Russia’s national resilience is enough to withstand the consumption of war, but it can cut off the military aid from the United States and Europe to Ukraine and destroy the entire country. Is the fighting will of the Ukrainian military and civilians?
I'm afraid not.
A Ukrainian soldier inspects a Russian multiple-barreled missile system abandoned by the Russian army in the village of Berezivka, Ukraine.
(AP)
Of course, for Ukraine, it may be difficult to win the war and get back all the land that has been annexed by Russia.
Consolidating the military occupation of Crimea and the Donbas region is Russia's bottom line. This is the only reason Putin can use to persuade the domestic people to support the war. It is the few war achievements that Russia has left.
There is no way for Putin to back down on this issue. Whether it loses these places through negotiations or military means, the legitimacy of the Putin government will face serious challenges, and it may even collapse and face political liquidation. Therefore, Putin will use all his strength to ensure that The results of the war that have been achieved, no matter how much sacrifice will be made for it.
More importantly, the U.S. and Europe's war support for Ukraine is facing great uncertainty.
The swings in Europe, especially Germany and France, are clearly visible. The support of the United States and Britain may change at any time due to domestic political changes. It is really hard to say whether the Republican Party, which has regained control of the House of Representatives, will cooperate with the Biden administration to continue supporting the war.
Zelensky's visit to the United States was warmly welcomed by the Democratic Party, which also made his aura of "wartime president" shine in the West and in Ukraine. The United States seeks more support from the Biden administration, but also because of the uncertainty brought about by political changes in the United States, it wants to get support from the Republican Party.
On December 21, in Washington, USA, Zelensky greeted members of both houses of Congress.
(Getty Images)
So it is still unclear where this war will go.
But what is certain is that the United States is the only country that holds the dominance of the war and is the biggest beneficiary of the war.
Therefore, let's focus on the United States to see if the United States has achieved the preset goal of the war, and to see what the Americans and Russians are doing under the table while they are arguing.
What is the most likely outcome of the Russia-Ukraine war after Zelensky's visit to the United States?
Zelensky's visit to the United States｜Russia-Uzbekistan war is set for a protracted period
