Russian & Ukrainian Military Adaptation in War

Russia’s invasion of and war in Ukraine is vividly highlighting how militaries adapt (and don’t) during wartime. From “cope cages” to drones dropping hand grenades, and everything in between, the armed forces of both Moscow and Kyiv are demonstrating the real-time iteration and evolution (successful or otherwise) of doctrine, technology, and leadership in combat. What lessons should the United States and its allies draw from this adaptation? What does the adaption of Russia and Ukraine’s forces suggest about both sides’ ability to prosecute the war? What does the respective adaption tell us about both countries’ military culture? Joining CSPC to discuss these questions and more are Lt. Gen. David Barno and Dr. Nora Bensahel-authors of “Adaptation Under Fire”-and Michael Kofman, the director of CNA’s Russia Studies Program.
Speakers:
Lieutenant General David W. Barno, USA (Ret.) is a Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow at the Merrill Center of the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He is also a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks, and an Adjunct Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses.
Dr. Nora Bensahel is a Visiting Professor of Strategic Studies and Senior Fellow of the Merrill Center at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and a Contributing Editor and Columnist for War on the Rocks. She is also an Adjunct Research Staff Member at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Her work focuses on the future of warfare, and military strategy and operations. She is the co-author of the recently-published book Adaptation Under Fire: How Militaries Change in Wartime, and currently serves on the Executive Board of the Leadership Council for Women in National Security (LCWINS).
Michael Kofman serves as Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA and as a Fellow at the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson International Center in Washington, DC. His research focuses on the Russia and the former Soviet Union, specializing in Russian armed forces, military thought, capabilities, and strategy. Mr. Kofman is also a Senior Editor at War on the Rocks, where he regularly authors articles on strategy, the Russian military, Russian decision-making, and related foreign policy issues. He runs a personal blog on the Russian armed forces at russianmilitaryanalysis.wordp...
Joshua Huminski: At the Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress (CSPC), Mr. Huminski is the Director of the Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence & Global Affairs founded by former Congressman and Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Mike Rogers.
Joshua co-leads the Center’s Great Powers Competition Program which explores how conflict with Russia and China will play out in the information, technology, economic, and intelligence domains. Joshua also serves as the Director of CSPC’s National Security Space Program, which is investigating ways to integrate commercial technologies into the national security space architecture.
He is a frequent commentator on national security, intelligence policy, emerging technology issues, and is an avid book reviewer for the Diplomatic Courier.
Joshua brings with him over ten years’ experience having worked in both the United States and United Kingdom in intelligence and security analysis, public affairs, and strategic communications across the defense, intelligence, and homeland security sectors.
Originally from Connecticut, Joshua received his Master’s degree (with Merit) in War Studies from King’s College London after completing a dissertation on energy security and international relations. He earned his undergraduate honors degree from the University of Connecticut in political science following the completion of a thesis project on U.S. civil-military relations.

[@linmal2242]

Thankyou Dr Bensahel for that excellent summary of the current action and the innovations and systems provision to the Ukrainians. Slava Ukraini ! Regards from AUS

[@basilpaalarjee8570]

Awesome coverage by Mike - Back to honest analysis

[@nothrabin]

Really appreciated this video, thank you so much for posting. Some insightful commentary. Came here because of Mr. Kaufman, but really liked all the speakers in this one.

[@laserprawn]

Not sure it's professional to call psyops "knowledge" just because at times it is indeed a transparent picture of what's on the ground. The purpose is psyops, and we also know that much undesirable footage and information is being censored.

[@krazyswede11]

The clown puppet Elenskyyy... Churchill?? Hahaha delusional...

[@danielhutchinson6604]

The Propaganda that we get from either side of the conflict is confusing. The reports that offer the illusion that Kyiv will attack Kamchatka soon seems a bit difficult to believe. The available weapons make Kyiv seem invincible, the ability of untrained individuals to operate them seems to illustrate the problems with a Proxy Army? We might want to question the motivation of Wall Street for promoting the conflict in the first place? But information about the BRICS Association appears to reveal what created the conflict, and that subject appears to be Verbotten......

[@crogeny]

Very informative commentary. Thank you.

[@Gilgamesh347]

I thoroughly enjoyed this and hope to see more on the conflict in Ukraine and potential conflicts around the world. The panelists were knowledgable and provided a balanced perspective.

[@DD_Davey]

Thanks!

[@marneus]

Thank you very much for offering this in the open. Great arguments and insightful commentaries.

[@RonHilton]

Fantastic analysis by the panelists. Thanks you for posting this. I hope that the U.S. military decision makers will take heed to the advice and analysis put forth in this video. Again thanks for posting this.

[@enlightenedterrestrial]

Is there a hero in these comments who would summarize the video for us short-attention span people? It would be greatly, greatly appreciated 🙏

[@halynaherasym2733]

I am always excited to listen to talks like that, but also a little saddened: why is it so hard to find a Ukrainian political scientist or sociologist to join? Feels like none of them even speaks Ukrainian...

[@albertdittel8898]

Isn't Kofman from Ukraine? Maybe he can speak Ukrainian. On the other hand, why do you need one to speak Ukrainian? Wouldn't it be better to understand Russian to follow the academic level military affairs content in Ukraine? :)

[@MissAnastasiyaD]

@@albertdittel8898 no it wouldn't.

[@casualonemmo-player2167]

Halfway thru the video.... "hang on.... is that.... no it surely cant be.... does the guy in the lower right window really have a picture on the wall of... what kind of military general is that.... ah, no.... is that... is that Picard!? Our old trusty Star Trek Picard" /jumps out of bed and "Ten hut".

[@stanstanislav5755]

Michael Kofman is fantastic! He is REALLY the only one who knows what he is talking about. The rest of them just talking out of their asses.

[@joelhammer3538]

Go back and watch how he used to overestimate the ruzis and you might be less impressed.

[@albertdittel8898]

@@joelhammer3538 Link?

[@joelhammer3538]

@@albertdittel8898 google. He was on csis panels for ages.

[@lampegutt123]

Why is it that when NATO invaded and destroyed Afganistan, everyone in the west, including the media was completely synchronised in cheering them on. The same horrible scenes took place as in Ukraine. But when the Russian invade a sovereign nation, the same people call the invaders the worst nation and leaders since nazi Germany. It makes the notion that the west holds itself to higher standards in foreign policy, as well as a “free press” just a complete joke. And might I add that pushing Ukraine to never sue for peace and keep fighting, will just make it more of a horrible situation with no chance of recovery. And get img involved in this Russian invasion is just pushing the world closer to nuclear war. Because that is all that Russia can do if we really push them in to a corner. There is no mention of Russians many attempts at negotiations to avoid war. But the Americans insisted on having their way regardless of any other country’s vital issues with that. And we Europeans are paying the price for it.

[@albertdittel8898]

You, sir, have the correct understanding and the adequate morals. And that's why your comment isn't getting any likes here. Better try something like "my heart is with the brave Ukrainian people".

[@FirstnameLastname-kn5sw]

Maybe Russian gas elites just shouldn't have invaded. Chechnya took them 10 years to end against a population of 1 million. Ukraine has 40 times the population. It's a meat grinder that gas Oligarchs will pour thousands of thousands of Russian military families into so that those oligarchs can earn a few more dollars for big plastic boats.

[@MissAnastasiyaD]

1. In case you just joined and aren't aware of what kind of state Russia is - it doesn't want peace with Ukraine, it wants to devour it. All the negotiation efforts, nazi and NATO talks - all smoke and mirrors. 2. Oh, poor Europeans paying for peace with their money! Let's make it so that Ukrainians are all gone - no Ukraine, no problem. And back to business as usual with Russian nut jobs. 3. Yes, US isn't perfect, but it this war, they are a 'good guy'. Whether you want it or not.

[@lampegutt123]

@@albertdittel8898 thank you for your comment. Its just so sad and worrying how the US just forces their agenda everywhere, and never reflects on what if this was us in Russia’s place? Remember Cuba 1962? Almost ww3 over the “enemy placing weapons close to America. Its very similar here. Putin of course cannot accept Ukraine in NATO and American missile system 8-900 km from Moscow. Thats just basic stuff. We need dialouge

[@Mr420jaan]

💤

[@MonteLogic]

First

[@quantumresonance8201]

Who is losing the cities?

[@masi8926]

Russians.

[@joshuapaul2022]

I thought Russia was running out of weapons, ammo, hardware, etc. I thought Putin was dying, like of a different disease each two weeks. I thought Ukraine was winning EASY thanks to the heroism of The Ghost of Kiev and Ben Stiller. Who could imagine that “evacuation” actually means surrender, “strategic withdrawal” means running for the hills dropping weapons, leaving wounded and equipment after total rout? How are they going to call Ukraine’s unconditional surrender? May be strategic evacuation across the polish border.

[@radiobaked]

Are you addressing these questions in relation to something said during the discussion or are you just trying to make sense of how Russia stumbled into a protracted struggle against a 3rd rate power?

[@Ash__7]

@@radiobaked The bot likely pasted that same comment onto ~50 other videos

[@kreek22]

@@radiobaked A huge NATO rapid response force, which will certainly be >50% American, is great news for China. Although it has 10x Russia's production capacity and 9x Russia's manpower, China is not considered the main threat by the American ruling class: China generously lines their pockets, unlike Russia. The incompetent initiation of the Ukraine invasion has caused people to underestimate the Russian military. They fail to understand that the invasion plan was Putin's. But, the current operations are mainly planned by the generals. The Putin plan failed, the generals' plan is succeeding. Kofman I've been reading since the war's onset. He is well informed. However, he is clearly biased against the Russians, which has caused him to predict Russian "exhaustion of forces" continuously for at least 2 months. This is not in evidence, and Russia has 2 million reservists available for mobilization. Millions more men may be drafted at will. So far, the war is going well enough that Putin has only engaged in "soft" mobilization efforts--mostly throwing money at the problem of acquiring recruits. The Globalist American Empire, in all of its GAE evil, is simply using Ukrainians as cannon fodder in a misguided attempt to weaken the weaker of the two remaining sovereign nations that exist outside of the GAE.

[@donderstorm1845]

​@@radiobaked calling ukraine a 3rd rate power is a bit insulting to ukraine. their navy/air force is lacking, but by now it boasts one of the strongest armies in europe, far more battle-hardened than the likes of france, the UK, germany, etc. even before the 2022 russian invasion there were a lot of ukrainian veterans, but especially today.

[@radiobaked]

@@donderstorm1845 Just to clarify-- my personal stance isn't that Ukraine was ever a 3rd rate power. Russian state and news agencies insinuated it with their daydreams of breezing past Kyiv. But now the Russian army must sleep the bed which was made for them by Putin, in a house built by the supposedly impoverished and incapable Ukrainians.

[@stevomiljevic6663]

Are vou normal?

[@paulzx5034]

How cute to see at least one woman in every military related panel. Please add at least one speaker from LGBTQ community.

[@stanstanislav5755]

Thank you Paul. Could not agree more. Also a representative from each race.

[@joelhammer3538]

How do you know one of em isnt?

[@MissAnastasiyaD]

How cute to see at least one russian in the comment section of a 1 hour video about how pathetic his army actually is. Mysterious russian soul does like to suffer.

[@paulzx5034]

@@MissAnastasiyaDИди борщ вари.

[@MissAnastasiyaD]

@@paulzx5034 а ты вслед за кораблем😝