What is the reason why Russia is still not using its most advanced weapons in Ukraine?

Thanks to the Internet and the Kremlin, there is now a lot of misinformation circulating.

The latest and most common points are as follows

Russia is “withholding” its men and best equipment.

The Russian attack on Kyiv was a distraction

Russia is actually winning if you look at the death tolls.

This is all wrong. For our purposes we will focus on Myth #1 – that Russia is holding back men and equipment.

If you look at the size of the Russian army, you will see that it has 1,000,000 troops and 2,000,000 in reserve. Then you see that only 200,000 people are engaged in Ukraine, which fits the view that Russia is holding back. Here’s the thing though

Of those 1,000,000 men, about 400,000 are in the Air Force, Navy, or Homeland Security.

Of the remaining 600,000, at least half are logistics or specialized personnel.

Russia still needs to occupy Georgia, protect its cities, deploy troops along NATO’s borders, and deploy troops along China’s borders.

Overall, Russia has thrown almost everything it has at Ukraine. The vast majority of the active “ready right now” Russian military is involved in this invasion.

Russia could certainly mobilize and call up all its reserves. The problem is that it requires a huge amount of money and time. Even if more men are called up, Russia is struggling to supply its currently deployed forces. Adding more men to the mix will only make things worse.

Now let’s talk about the equipment.

The most modern Russian tank is the T-14 Armata, and on paper it’s a decent tank. So why isn’t it in Ukraine? Well, because there are only 100 of them and they are still being tested.

Russia did not win any foreign production orders, which meant that it could never mass produce the T-14. Therefore, only a few prototypes were produced.

The most modern active Russian tank is the T-90 and these tanks are actively deployed in Ukraine. additionally

The Russian Navy has deployed some of its most advanced assets to the Black Sea.

The Russian Air Force uses its more modern Gen-5 aircraft, but similar to the T-14, there are not too many of them.

The best Russian military units were deployed, such as SpecOps and paratroopers, who were involved in the first strikes against Kyiv.

Russia has thrown everything it has at Ukraine. To strengthen their forces, they would have to increase their military spending, call up reserves, and undergo an economic shift to a total war economy. To take these steps would be tantamount to admitting failure, which Putin will never do.

This is not war, remember? It’s “special military action” or some other nonsense. Why should you fully mobilize for a minor defensive military operation?