The VDV

March 03, 2022 thread

How is the war in Ukraine going? Today they confirmed the death of Russian General Major Suhovetsky. He's unsurprisingly a paratrooper. So let's discuss the role of paratroopers in Russian military doctrine. That'll shed a light on the course of this war and why Russia lost it🧵

Paratroopers hold more legendary status than any other troops in Russia. They are elite force comprising the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. They are supposed to lead the offensive, being dropped behind the enemy lines and holding the ground before the rest of the army comes

Since WWII there were only three cases when Russian paratroopers were actually dropped on the enemy from the air:

Hungary 1956
Czechoslovakia 1968
Ukraine 2022

Ergo, paratroopers act as paratroopers only when they don't expect resistance from another regular army

The firepower of an "elite" paratrooper regiment is way weaker than that of regular, "non-elite" infantry regiment. They can't defeat an army. But they aren't supposed to fight against an army. They are supposed to suppress mutinies and rebellions