There’s a simple reason why Putin’s invasion has failed so spectacularly

The image that for me best sums up the utter incompetence of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine is a photograph of an abandoned Russian armoured vehicle taken early in the conflict with the caption “destroyed by Ukrainian forces”. At first glance, the vehicle appears to be structurally intact, with no explosive debris in its immediate vicinity. Closer inspection, however, revealed why it no longer had any further contribution to make. Beneath the glossy veneer of its painted exterior, the tell-tale signs of rusty tracks and oil leaking from the engine vent confirmed the fact that the Russians weren’t prepared or battle-fit for this fight.

While the armoured vehicle might have looked impressive on a Russian parade ground, its unpreparedness and that of its crew for the heat of battle was exposed the moment it was deployed in action: it simply stopped, causing the unfortunate Russian soldiers charged with operating the vehicle to leave it – if they were lucky.

The images of abandoned Russian tanks and weapon systems have become a familiar feature of Russia’s assault on Ukraine, with vehicles found with their tracks or wheels stripped off, bogged down and unable to extract themselves, all scenes that expose the myth of Moscow’s military invincibility. Far from being a military superpower, the Russian military has been shown to be an ill-prepared force that is no match for its smaller, but better trained, ready and sufficiently-equipped, Ukrainian adversary.

One of the eternal truths of warfare, as articulated by military strategists from Sun Tzu to the Duke of

Wellington, is that it doesn’t matter how good your plan for achieving victory might be, it will achieve nothing if your troops have not been properly trained and equipped. Training, logistics, maintenance, plentiful supplies of ammunition, fuel, food and water, communications: this is the boring stuff of warfare, but making sure a military force is prepared and equipped for operational duty is crucial to achieving a successful outcome.

During my military career, I must have spent up to 1,000 hours in training for every hour I spent in combat. From sand models to computer-generated scenarios, to ground exercises without troops to full metal jacketed exercises with live ammunition, which took years to plan, months to set up and weeks to execute, the relentless pace of training ensured that, when it came to launching combat operations, we had the best chance of achieving our objectives. If you train hard, you fight hard, and that is the key to success.

Failure to prepare inevitably results in failure, which is why the Russians have fared so badly. Whether it was due to corruption, or simply because senior commanders were not interested in training their forces to the required level, it has resulted in the catastrophic failure of Putin’s so-called “special military operation”.

By contrast, the Ukrainians learnt from the setbacks they suffered in 2014. They sought help, reorganised and then prepared themselves through relentless training to be the force that we see today. There are lessons, too, for Western leaders as they seek to rebuild their military strength following decades of neglect caused by the so-called “peace dividend” they banked at the end of the Cold War. Training and equipping for modern conflict might sometimes sound uninspiring, but it is vital to achieving success.

The foundations of all our Armed Forces must be built on people who are carefully selected, properly trained, and equipped to be battle-ready. Ammunition stocks must be held and replenished, and the latest hi-tech and precision weapons acquired to give our forces a decisive edge. And we need to train harder and longer than our adversaries to make sure our brave men and women have the best chance of achieving victory in any future conflict they are required to fight.

The Russian military has been exposed as poorly trained and ill-equipped