Ukraine’s Best Ally is Russia’s Military Bureaucracy

Image licensed by the author from Envato Elements. Photoshopped by the author. I apologize for this image. I put 99% of my time into research and writing, and 1% into my Photoshop skills.

For all the talk about NATO’s role in Ukraine’s resistance, it turns out Kyiv’s most reliable ally is something much closer to home — Russia’s own mind-boggling incompetence.

What was supposed to be a three-day blitzkrieg to Kyiv has dragged into a years-long war, thanks in no small part to the toxic mix of corruption, bureaucracy, and outdated military doctrine that defines the Russian war machine.

Russia’s inability to execute a modern military campaign isn’t just bad luck — it’s the inevitable result of a system that values paperwork over performance.

Russian military bloggers, both inside and outside Russia, have been sounding the alarm for years. Even within Russia’s ultra-nationalist “Z” community, frustration runs high. The complaints range from logistical nightmares to outright sabotage by bureaucratic inertia.

Consider how the Russian army handles lost equipment. Every missing tank, truck, or rifle requires mountains of paperwork, as if filling out 625 forms per vehicle will somehow bring them back.

Every armored vehicle that Ukraine has destroyed adds more bureaucratic steps, further paralyzing Russia’s war machine. This likely contributes to why commanders have simply resorted to human meat waves.