That is why I always laugh at those who fret about some advanced new tank or jet fighter or whatever that the Russians supposedly have or are working on. They lack the infrastructure to build more than a handful and lack the cash to build more infrastructure, and their latest and greatest gets sold to China or India for cash because they are so cash-starved, not to their own military. Their own military is still mostly equipped with old Soviet-era gear with few or no upgrades and would be nothing but target practice for any modern military. Militarily, they are at best a regional power. Other than the nukes. Can’t ignore the nukes. But they can’t really use the nukes either, because that would result in overwhelming response from *everybody*.
So saber rattling. And covert ops. That’s what they can do, and the latter in particular can be annoying, but whenever Tsar Vlad rattles about some new weapon or something, I know that’s entirely about his domestic politics, not about what he’s *really* up to.
]]>