Europe | Adapt and die

Russia’s army is learning on the battlefield

A new report shows how its tactics are improving. Ukraine can still beat it

In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, May 18, 2023, Russian soldiers prepare a 152 mm self-propelled gun Giatsint-S to fire toward Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
Image: AP

RUSSIAN GENERALS have been slow to learn from their strategic errors. General Valery Gerasimov botched Russia’s initial assault on Kyiv, bungled an assault on the eastern Donbas region last summer and has frittered away tens of thousands of troops on a futile offensive on the same front over the past five months. A Ukrainian offensive is now looming. But despite it all, Russia’s army still appears to be learning and improving in important ways.

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