MOSCOW (AP) — With an aircraft carrier deployed off Syria’s shores and hundreds of new jets, missiles and tanks entering service each year, President Vladimir Putin can project Russian military power on a scale unseen since Soviet times.
A massive reform effort launched in the wake of Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia has transformed a crumbling, demoralized military into agile forces capable of swift action in Ukraine and Syria.
During its five-day war with tiny Georgia, army units starved of new equipment for 15 years experienced chronic vehicle breakdowns, communications failures and friendly-fire casualties from inaccurate salvos.
“Civilian jobs are routine, while military …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
