As a result, Russia's military is ditching one of the main reforms lauched under Vladimir PutinNEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The German Army in World War II routinely formed combined-arms battlegroups ("kampfgruppen"), as did the US Army's task forces. BTGs were composed of professional contract soldiers, who are generally more capable, competent, and motivated than the sullen conscripts that still hamper Russia's army today. A few high-readiness battalions can't compensate for the low-readiness conscripts that make up about one-third of Russia's army. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images"The Russian military is well-suited to short, high-intensity campaigns defined by a heavy use of artillery," Michael Kofman and Rob Lee, both experts on Russia's military, wrote in June 2022.

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Persons: Vladimir Putin, —, Vladimir Putin's, Josef Stalin, SERGEY VENYAVSKY, Olesya, Tkacheva, BTGs, SERGEI VENYAVSKY, ALEXANDER NEMENOV, Michael Kofman, Rob Lee, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Russian, Red Army, Tactical Groups, Getty, Ukraine —, Brussels School, Governance, Wilson Center, Washington DC, German Army, US, Foreign Military Studies Office, Britain's Royal United Services Institute, Troops, Soviet Army, British Army, Ministry of Defense, Russian Armed Forces, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Chechen, AFP, Washington, Russian, Georgia, Moscow, Syria, Russia's, Krasnodar, Soviet, BTGs, Germany, Forbes