Putin set a trap for Ukraine and walked right into it

Putin Is Finding War Is Hell, and Expensive — James Stavridis One question I get repeatedly these days: What is wrong with the Russian milit [Bloomberg]( Follow Us [Get the newsletter]( [Putin Is Finding War Is Hell, and Expensive]( — James Stavridis One question I get repeatedly these days: What is wrong with the Russian military? Many in the West had a mistaken belief that the Russian war machine was a rough match for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and they are surprised at how much trouble the massive force is having subduing a much smaller and less-equipped neighbor, Ukraine. During my time as NATO’s military commander, I spent time with the Russian military and the chief of its general staff at the time, General Nikolai Makarov. A congenial figure, Makarov told me about Russian efforts to modernize his forces, starting with professionalizing them and weaning the nation from a brutal conscript system. There were plans to improve offensive cyber capabilities, precision-guided weaponry and unmanned vehicles. He seemed confident of progress, but from all I have seen in Ukraine, the decade-long effort has not been successful, and draftees abound. There is little evidence of the hardware improvements, either. The Russians present not as a sophisticated 21st-century army, but rather a blunt force in the style of World War II’s militaries. Read the [whole thing](. [A Losing and Desperate Putin Could Be Terrifying]( — Hal Brands [Amazon Comes Up With a Big No-Sale in India]( — Andy Mukherjee [Daylight Saving and the Do-Something Congress]( — Jonathan Bernstein [The German Army Doesn’t Scare Putin, But It’s Beefing Up]( — Chris Bryant [Singapore Still Wants Smart, Rich Expats]( — Rachel Rosenthal [The West Misjudged Russia. It Shouldn’t Misjudge China](. — Adrian Wooldridge [How Four Powerful Brothers Broke Sri Lanka]( — Ruth Pollard [AMC Bought a Gold Mine]( — Matt Levine [Too-Big-to-Fail Risk Looms Over Commodities]( — Javier Blas This is the Weekend Edition of Bloomberg Opinion Today, a roundup of the most popular stories Bloomberg Opinion published this week based on web readership. New subscribers to the newsletter can [sign up here](. Like Bloomberg Opinion Today? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com and get much, much more](. You’ll receive our unmatched global news coverage and two in-depth daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close.  Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Bloomberg Opinion Today newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( | [Ad Choices]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022