Western Estimates of Russian Military Capabilities and the Invasion of Ukraine
Journal: Problems of Post-Communism
Year: 2023

The poor performance of the Russian military during the invasion of Ukraine came as a surprise to many in the West. This prompted a debate about why Russian capabilities had been overestimated. Fingers were pointed at the work of Western military analysts who, in the eyes of some critics, had based their estimates almost entirely on numbers and technology, resulting in mistaken predictions of a quick and decisive Russian victory. It has since been suggested that changes to the practices of Weste