The Failed Logistics Of The Russian Invasion

I’ve touched on some of the logistical difficulties Russia has experienced in its Ukrainian invasion. But this video goes into more detail about how Russia built up logistical support for the invasion, the importance of its rail systems, and how it hasn’t been able to keep up post-invasion.

Some takeaways:

  • Ukrainian forces destroyed all rail links between the two countries.
  • Russian forces are relying on analog, unsecured radio communications rather than scrambled digital channels, and Ukrainian forces are listening in and jamming.
  • Poor logistics also helped Soviet forces lose in Afghanistan.
  • Russia has 30,000 strong military rail organization.
  • “Russia doesn’t have enough trucks.” They can’t operate effectively more than 90 miles from supply dumps.
  • A large percentage of truck transport was dedicated to rocket resupply, not fuel and food.
  • Russia only had 3-5 days of supplies when they invaded. When those ran out, they were screwed.
  • Russia’s military works on a “push” logistic system rather than a “pull” system used by the U.S. military, meaning it’s not very flexible.
  • Russia has the capability to set up the infrastructure for a longer war, but it’s going to take time.
  • Russia’s failure to quickly achieve it’s objectives has seen it resort to more desperate and indiscriminate tactics.

    • And here’s a related Twitter thread that touches on rail network logistic issues.

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    This entry was posted on Sunday, March 6th, 2022 at 12:30 PM and is filed under Foreign Policy, Military, video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

    12 Responses to “The Failed Logistics Of The Russian Invasion”

    1. Howard says:
      March 7, 2022 at 1:03 AM

      Wendover and Wretchard. Two of my favorites.

    2. The Dark Lord says:
      March 7, 2022 at 8:56 AM

      and repairing rail lines is really hard …

    3. U War, Round 2: the Russkie Blintzkrieg. – chuckmoss.com says:
      March 7, 2022 at 10:00 AM

      […] The Failed Logistics Of The Russian Invasion « Lawrence Person’s BattleSwarm Blog […]

    4. JohnTyler says:
      March 7, 2022 at 10:01 AM

      As the going gets tougher for the Russians, the more brutal and the more devastating the destruction they will cause.
      The will not hesitate to use a scorched earth approach and will level entire cities – and kill all the civilians – if they must.
      Russia will not engage in house to house fighting; they will not allow this. They will completely and totally destroy an entire city(cities) if they have to
      Russia is experiencing setbacks they did not predict; this is temporary.
      They will regroup and resupply.
      And when they do, Ukraine’s cities will be reduced to charcoal.
      Russians do not give a F about “international law” or the worthless UN or being accused of war crimes. Russians respond to actions, not words.
      Russians have never cared about human suffering or deaths and they never will.

    5. L Kline says:
      March 7, 2022 at 10:46 AM

      Well at least the Russians don’t need to worry about converting the gauge.

    6. Ivan says:
      March 7, 2022 at 11:38 AM

      Russia is running out of healthy Russians of fighting age. Mr. Putin is pouring healthy Russian blood down the drain to salve his own inner torment. Russia is under an international news blackout so that the people cannot see what Mr. Putin is doing to their scarce young men.

      Counter artillery weapons will be the next gift of the west to the Ukrainian military forces.

      After this, no one forgives Russia for Mr. Putin’s sins.

    7. Mayonnaise and Ketchup says:
      March 7, 2022 at 11:58 AM

      JohnTyler is right. It’s entirely premature to use the word “failed” with regard to any aspect of this war. Ukraine is losing territory every day, and Putin isn’t going to back off until he gets what he wants. And NATO isn’t going to stop him, despite all the happy talk. Western analysis is far too short-sighted on this.

      Ukraine is already lost. Everything we’re seeing in Western media is virtue signaling and wishcasting.

    8. Lord of the Night Shift says:
      March 7, 2022 at 12:19 PM

      The Red Army’s fav technique was to flatten an area with a gigantic artillery barrage, then bounce the rubble for a while, then walk in. You can’t do that with expensive missiles, I guess.

    9. Seawriter says:
      March 7, 2022 at 1:31 PM

      JohnTyler, it’s pretty hard to flatten a city without a large number of shells to fire. (Unless you go nuclear, which is another issue) My question is if the Russians are stalled because they have inadequate transport, how do they get the shells to the front to obliterate whole cities? Especially since they cannot move enough food up to feed their troops. Also, the Ukrainians are sending company-sized units into the Russian rear to target tanker trucks.

      I think Br’er Putun is well and truly stuck to the Tar Baba Yar.

    10. Stephen Karlson says:
      March 7, 2022 at 3:14 PM

      Dark Lord 0856: “Repairing rail lines is hard.”

      If bridges or tunnels go, yes, although even then the Way and Structures people are pretty good at improvising. Washouts, tornadoes, earthquakes, landslides, forest fires are part of doing business and provide knowledge that’s also useful in case of bombing.

    11. Is Russia’s Military Running Out Of Equipment And Spare Parts? « Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog says:
      April 3, 2022 at 2:52 PM

      […] on the other hand, seems quite plausible, given the well-documented logistical difficulties, and the furious rate at which Russian forces expended munitions during the initial […]

    12. Ukraine Hits Train On Crimean Bridge « Lawrence Person's BattleSwarm Blog says:
      October 8, 2022 at 12:51 AM

      […] has a 30,000 man strong rail organization. If it hasn’t suffered the same rot as the rest of the Russian armed forces (a big if), and if […]

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