In the early stages, I thought Russia was holding back. But since it's been more than a year, Russia isn't holding back. Before the war, some of their big ticket equipment wasn't working. This is a common Russia problem. Like they have X subs, but how many are actually operational? I get that stuff breaks so being 100% is difficult, but they way too far from that to claim that random stuff is breaking by chance.
But don't let the above fool anyone, invading Russia would still be a very bad idea as history has proved that over and over.
from what i've seen, at the beginning, their equipment wasn't worth a damn, compared to western kit. They really got the short end of the deal with the chinese tires, and chinese grease seals. those lasted 2 days. Maybe some defense contractors, contracting officers got hauled in front of firing squads? vacay to Gulag?
it seems the battlefield is creating the necessity for improvement. their air defense systems today, are much better than they were 2 years ago, however still falls far short of american systems. They are apparently now able to intercept ATACMS, just not all of them, yet. They have innovated on the battlefield also. for instance fiber optic FPV drones, can't be jammed. They've figured out laser-guided artillery, using FPV drones to lase the target. and their small unit tactics are also evolving to suit conditions, e.g. infantry on dirt bikes and ATVs is becoming common, not just a Special Forces tactic. I see riders in the back of pickups with semi-auto shotguns, facing backwards, as primitive anti-drone defense. and the now-famous russian turtle-tanks. people laughed, how ridiculous, then they quickly started copying. Couldn't copy them fast enough.
Russia is now equipping the drones with cellphone or wifi hot-spots or something, so that it can vacuum up cell phone data, usage, and imagery (e.g. trench locations) as the drone is on its' way to the target. That's one clever way to collect electronic intel for follow-on targeting, locations of troop concentrations, etc. They even adjust the drone routes to optimize this.
what's interesting, if I look at Funker530, and Telegram, most of the posted videos are of successful Ukrainian drone attacks, armored assault. Judging from that, Ukraine is clearly winning the war, easily. But the maps are undeniable, Russia is gaining territory in leaps and bounds. From what I see, the M2 Bradley is proving its' worth better than the M1A1 Abrams.
Yeah, they are throwing a shit-ton of bodies at the front, humongous losses, but for the size of Russia, apparently they can afford it. I think the guesstimated number is something like a thousand KIA per day, maybe 1,500. and Ukraine is running out of manpower, but still yet refuses to draft 18YO to 25YO. They need 500,000, they're at 160,000. somewhat short there, eh? US drafted 18YO for piddly-assed Viet Nam, Ukraine needs to ante-up, go all-in, or shut-up, stop yakking about the battle for existential survival (all talk, no action), and take the deal. doesn't make sense for US to provide weapons if Ukraine isn't going to provide the persons to carry those weapons. They'll just get stock-piled and sold on the black market. Even Zelinsky himself went from being a broke-assed comedian to a multi-millionaire, with mansions in foreign countries, yachts. Same ilk as Pelosi. Always that "using the positions of political power for personal enrichment", same as Hawaii politicians.
USA gets squeamish when it gets over tens per year, or hundreds combat losses. But a thousand PER DAY? Democrats would gladly pass a bill to make it mandatory for schools to teach chinese from kindergarten on up, and pledge fealty to Chairman Xi.
it seems lopsided video being posted also implies that Russia is locking down their information space somewhat effectively. I see a lot of Ukraine FPV grenade-drops on Russians (savage, brutal), than vice versa. Either it's not happening, or it's locked down. from watching the FPV drone savage butchery, I can actually understand why advancing front-line russian soldiers would execute ukrainian drone operators on the spot if they run across them. I can understand their sentiment. Apparently the rules of war haven't yet been written for drone warfare. That doesn't make it right, but war is hell.