So much for a country “bouncing back” from its earlier humiliations in Ukraine, such as the memorable sinking of the Moskva. Meanwhile, the similarly antiquated nuclear-powered flagship of the Northern fleet, Peter the Great, w ill probably have to be scrapped because it is too expensive to modernise.
The carrier is not predicted to return to active service until 2024 at the earliest. In March 2021, the general director of the shipyard was arrested in connection with embezzlement of funds. It was common to hear about Russian tank soldiers stealing engine coolant to drink for its intoxicating properties or flogging diesel supplies to buy food.Īs for the state of the navy, Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, has been out of action since 2018 thanks to a toxic combination of botched repairs and blatant illegality.
In hindsight, we should have seen it coming: I can remember stories from my time serving as a tank commander in the Cold War facing off against the Russians in Germany. The spectacular losses of armoured vehicles suffered by Moscow’s forces was initially a surprise to Western analysts now I’m inclined to think they may well have been sitting ducks, with critical components sold for scrap or maintained on the cheap. It’s the perfect illustration of the insurmountable moral rot plaguing Putin’s gangster state.
The news that a Russian tank commander was arrested last week and accused of stealing the engines out of battle tanks comes as no surprise neither are the recent revelations of the decrepit state of much of the Russian navy. For years, this systemic corruption strengthened his grip on power, yet for his forces in Ukraine – despite the stalemate on the front lines, and undue pessimism from certain quarters – this criminality continues to do the opposite, slowly but steadily weakening the Russian ability to wage war and eroding Putin’s ability to control events.ĭespite appearances, the Russian invasion is still falling apart – quite literally in the case of some poorly maintained vehicles and naval equipment – as a direct result of the rot at the heart of the Kremlin. We all know how money is siphoned from the state and funnelled to his allies and oligarchs, as well as his own pocket. It comes as no surprise that Vladimir Putin rules Russia in spectacularly corrupt fashion.
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