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This Indicator Shows Russia Is 'Really Weak,' According to Ex-U.S. General
BY KAITLIN LEWIS ON 8/18/23 AT 10:46 PM EDT
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Russian Ka-52 Helicopter Downed with MANPADS Near Robotyne Frontline: Kyiv
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Retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges is questioning the Russian
military's competence after Ukrainian troops shot down two of Moscow's
Ka-52 HOKUM "Alligator" attack helicopters.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces claimed on Thursday that
Kyiv's Air Forces had knocked down a Russian Ka-52 in the eastern
Donetsk region in the early morning. Two hours later, Ukraine's 47th
Separate Mechanized Brigade shot down another one of the prized aircraft
near Robotyne, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Military experts have previously called the Ka-52 one of Russia's most
capable attack helicopters. But Hodges, who served as commanding general
of U.S. Army Europe, discussed Ukraine's second successful strike during
an interview with the online news source UKRLIFE.TV, and said that the
footage of the helicopter being taken down near Robotyne showed that the
Russian pilot lacked the skills to fly "a multimillion-dollar
state-of-the-art" vehicle.

This Indicator Shows Russia Is 'Really Weak'
A Russian Ka-52 "Alligator" military helicopter is displayed near Moscow
on July 20, 2021. Retired U.S. Army General Ben Hodges is questioning
Russia's military effectiveness after Ukraine knocked down two of
Moscow's Ka-52 copters.
DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP VIA GETTY
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"As I watched the video, what I was struck with was how high the
helicopter was in the sky," Hodges said. "That's a death sentence for
any helicopter that flies in combat. At that altitude, they're always
going to be shut down."

"To me, this is either arrogance, or inexperience, or they just haven't
learned anything," Hodges continued. "And I think what we're seeing is
even with a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art attack helicopter, if
you have a pilot that is not experienced, then they're going to be shot
down."

Hodges appears to be referring to the footage posted to X, formerly
Twitter. The video was posted by the account OSINTtechnical, which is
run by an analyst at the Center for Naval Analyses think tank.

The retired general added during his interview that even "after 18
months" of war, Russia is showing that they are still "really weak"
despite having effective and equipped aircraft.

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"There's so much conversation about Ukraine can't do this, Ukraine can't
do this," Hodges said. "On the other side ... They [Russia] have lost so
many pilots, they've lost so many tanks, they've lost so much artillery,
they continue to lose generals. Their logistics system is fragile. So, I
think now is the time to really apply pressure on Russia, not to stop or
hesitate."

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.

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Russia's military has repeatedly faced personnel and morale issues, as
several soldiers sent to the front lines complained about a lack of
training and equipment. Last week, a Russian military blogger accused
Moscow's military officials of encouraging their soldiers to "report
false successes on their missions to please their commanders," according
to a report from the Institute for the Study of War. The blogger also
indicated that Russian soldiers have staged battle scenes designed to
mimic battlefield success.

Ukraine's counteroffensive, which was launched in June, has been moving
at a much slower pace than first expected, although Kyiv got a boost of
morale earlier this week after reclaiming another village in the Donetsk
region.

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Conversation67 Comments

Michaelandolga
12 hours ago

Almost 18 months into the war, Russia's military has been ridden hard
and put away wet. When Ukraine makes dumb decisions, their army learns
from it. But Russia makes the same mistakes over and over again (no
doubt in part because underlings don't have authorization to deviate
from the plan, think autonomously, etc.).

It's no wonder morale is rock bottom for the Russians. Many of them
aren't even getting paid. Still, Russia has a huge reservoir of poorly
trained, poorly led men to draw from - particularly if another
mobilization is ordered.

What Russia doesn't have a surplus of is artillery pieces and tanks.
Once those are sufficiently depleted - and we're started to get there -
fires will drop off substantially, irrespective of how much ammo is
available. Russia is losing large numbers of artillery systems every
single day, far more than its antiquated manufacturing base is capable
of reproducing. We're already seeing older, less capable systems emerge
(just as we saw the T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks replaced by WWII-era
equipment). Once those dry up, it'll just be the trickle they can
produce currently, and it won't matter how many men they can line up on
the front line.

Michael Hamilton
10 hours ago

For improved pilot survivability the Ka-50 is fitted with an ejection
seat which is a rare feature for a helicopter.

Before the rocket in the ejection seat deploys, the rotor blades are
blown away by explosive charges in the rotor disc and the canopy is
jettisoned.

I suggest the safest environment for the pilots would be to not fly in
the first place.

Canadian Conservative
5 hours ago

Good chance Russia will be defeated due to the collapse of the Russian
economy over anything else. The ruble is taking a brief respite from its
devaluation due to an emergency overnight interest rate hike of 350
basis points. Inflation and deficits are skyrocketing and Russian
airliners are flying ...
flying without needed repairs. Add to the fact that the Russian
economy isn’t even as large as Canada’s with four times the population.
Putin has set his country’s course for economic disaster.

Alan K
13 hours ago

Kinda makes you wonder just how effective is the Russian military. If
they're having to pull 1960s era tanks out of storage, and they're famed
Armata tanks haven't had much of an effect in Ukraine just how good is
Putins dilapidated Army, Airforce and his Navy. Just keep giving Ukraine
what they need to keep hammering Putins war machine.

Tresco
7 hours ago

And Russia will only weaken...from the inside. Search Moscow Times
"Murders, Drugs and Brawls". Some 20,000 Putin-pardoned former members
of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s private militia, Wagner, have been unleashed on
an unsuspecting population which itself has been brainwashed by Putin’s
“Ministry of Truth” into believing that these former convicts are now
all “heroically cleansed and purified”. This number has the potential to
rise to 32,000 from Wagner alone, and even up to 80,000 if the total
number of convict conscripts is taken into account. Most of these were
psychologically damaged before being recruited and, after witnessing and
participating in the Russian-inflicted horrors of Ukraine, are returning
in an even more dangerous mental state. With little or no aftercare, it
is little wonder that many have returned to crimes more wicked than
those for which they were originally incarcerated, and the number is
expected to rise dramatically. Add to this their physical health, with
more than half suffering from AIDS, syphilis or tuberculosis, Putin has
activated a time-bomb in the midst of his long-suffering subjects more
dangerous than any number of Ukrainian drones.