background top icon
background center wave icon
background filled rhombus icon
background two lines icon
background stroke rhombus icon
header logo icon

Download "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion"

input logo icon
"videoThumbnail Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion
Table of contents
|

Table of contents

0:00
Introduction
0:20
How did the Russians conquer Ukraine
3:45
The Russian Army Doctrine
8:13
Training the Ukrainian Army
10:48
Why are the Russians so bad
12:53
Ukrainian Small Arms Production
15:38
Wagner
17:30
Prisoners of War
18:40
Wagner in Syria
21:18
Will Ukraine Win
Similar videos from our catalog
|

Similar videos from our catalog

Video tags
|

Video tags

history
development
mccollum
forgotten weapons
design
disassembly
Subtitles
|

Subtitles

subtitles menu arrow
  • ruRussian
Download
00:00:02
hey guys thanks for tuning in to another
00:00:04
video on forgottenweapons.com I'm Ian
00:00:07
McCollum and I'm joined again today by
00:00:08
my friend Neil Vermillion uh we talked
00:00:11
fairly extensively last time about your
00:00:13
experiences working in Northern Iraq and
00:00:16
in Ukraine
00:00:18
what what can you tell us
00:00:21
from a perspective of having been there
00:00:22
and having the info having access to
00:00:24
information that we don't see on the
00:00:25
news meeting about how did this
00:00:27
three-day operation to conquer Ukraine
00:00:31
like that's it month what 16 now like it
00:00:35
clearly didn't go according to plan no
00:00:37
why
00:00:39
um why that could be that's that's a
00:00:41
seven hour episode if you want to talk
00:00:42
about the ins and outs of why but just
00:00:45
some just some personal thoughts yeah
00:00:47
um
00:00:48
you know I think the the concept of the
00:00:50
invasion
00:00:53
they executed the beginning like two
00:00:55
steps properly
00:00:57
they got guys in they took over
00:00:58
airfields
00:01:00
and then it all fell apart okay
00:01:02
um so you had these guys coming in by
00:01:04
helicopter you know low low and slow
00:01:06
some of those guys got shot down some of
00:01:08
them actually resurfaced from the lake
00:01:11
um on Ukrainian Victory Day of like the
00:01:13
separation day from Russia it was kind
00:01:16
of [ __ ] up uh the in the Ukrainian
00:01:19
instead of big social media posts and
00:01:20
we're like hey I guess he wanted to come
00:01:21
celebrate with us
00:01:22
oh yeah it was it was it was rough
00:01:25
um but so they landed you know they they
00:01:27
got in and then they had some vehicles
00:01:29
with the vdv guys and they had some guys
00:01:31
you know come in from Belarus they had
00:01:32
the guys coming in from the East
00:01:34
and uh
00:01:37
if they didn't give any of the maps
00:01:40
first off okay so when you go someplace
00:01:43
you need to find a way around you've
00:01:44
never been before and you you're not
00:01:45
going to use your GPS on your phone and
00:01:47
let's say you don't have the funding
00:01:48
within your military to have
00:01:50
pluggers and things like the US military
00:01:52
does you'd think that we'd give you
00:01:54
printed Maps because that what they
00:01:56
would do you know is just like in World
00:01:57
War II you take this the road signs down
00:01:59
and you take all this stuff so you don't
00:02:00
know where you are but you need to be
00:02:01
able to at least do some land nav to
00:02:02
figure out okay like I ended up here I
00:02:04
need to go there this is roughly the way
00:02:06
I can get there
00:02:07
there is plenty of Drone footage that
00:02:09
you can find of these vehicles and
00:02:11
twosies and threesies convoys just
00:02:13
getting absolutely
00:02:15
ass lost and so then they'll get you
00:02:17
know they'll get lost they'll get turned
00:02:18
around and then they'll be stuck in an
00:02:19
area confused long enough the Ukrainian
00:02:21
resistance at the you know because at
00:02:23
the time it was resistance like it was
00:02:24
just everybody take a gun everybody take
00:02:25
a rock hit like we need to do something
00:02:27
yeah remember this like crates of AKs
00:02:29
anyone who wants one yeah have an AK and
00:02:31
so there were these you know Motley
00:02:33
groups of dudes that were like okay like
00:02:35
we know there's three vehicles over
00:02:36
there they don't know what they're doing
00:02:37
like let's just go hit them hard and
00:02:38
then scud out and they would and they're
00:02:40
just and they're knocking out Vehicles
00:02:41
left and right all day long
00:02:44
um a personal uh a story that was told
00:02:47
me personally by a guy that I met um he
00:02:49
was in Kiev at the time he was part of
00:02:51
the at one of the SF units I worked with
00:02:52
and he was telling me about how the vdv
00:02:55
there was a convoy of three vehicles one
00:02:57
soft skin truck one uh soft skin like
00:03:00
Jeep I don't know what what those guys
00:03:03
some sort of gas 4x4 and then an armored
00:03:05
vehicle of some sort one of the lighter
00:03:07
um everyone wins and they came into Kiev
00:03:10
alone
00:03:12
like just down the main road it's a bold
00:03:14
move yeah like we're talking you know
00:03:16
you're getting you're watching tanks
00:03:17
getting taken out and these dudes are
00:03:19
like whatever like light-skinned
00:03:20
Vehicles no big deal and they got
00:03:21
shwacked by this dude and his guys I
00:03:24
mean they were like they stopped in an
00:03:25
intersection and we're talking apartment
00:03:26
buildings those big Soviet style ones
00:03:28
and they all had The High Ground and
00:03:29
those dudes didn't stand a chance they
00:03:31
were just I mean to the man just gone
00:03:34
um
00:03:35
and you know that
00:03:37
what could have prevented that I think a
00:03:39
lot of things it sounds like a lack of
00:03:41
coordination as a major yeah like
00:03:44
is it true I I I've heard I have read
00:03:47
that the the Russian army Doctrine the
00:03:50
organizational structure is very much
00:03:52
top down it is the officer tells you
00:03:55
what to do and then you go do it and one
00:03:58
of the advantages allegedly of Western
00:04:01
structures and organizations is much
00:04:03
more focused on individual initiative
00:04:05
the officer tells you what has to happen
00:04:07
and you figure out you and your guys
00:04:08
figure out how to go make it happen and
00:04:11
this sounds like okay if anything goes
00:04:14
wrong on this initial Advance into Kiev
00:04:17
people get separated they now have
00:04:20
nothing to work with and no training to
00:04:23
to give them some notion of what to do
00:04:26
and they just Mill around until they all
00:04:29
get slaughtered tipped by local
00:04:31
resistance yep that is that is a fact so
00:04:33
we talked about this very briefly last
00:04:35
time we were together
00:04:37
um and
00:04:39
that was one of the things that we were
00:04:40
trying to train and instill in them is
00:04:41
is commander's intent and the ability to
00:04:44
figure out your own stuff is because you
00:04:46
know things you know there's all the old
00:04:47
adage of
00:04:49
um you know no plan survives first
00:04:50
contact with the Enemy so you have to be
00:04:52
flexible you have to be able to do
00:04:53
things because they're going to try to
00:04:55
shoot your radio and they're going to try to shoot your mic they're going to
00:04:56
try and shoot your officers so you've
00:04:57
got to be able to top down ever top up
00:04:59
top down bottom up no jobs and the idea
00:05:03
of what you want to do
00:05:04
um
00:05:05
and they don't have that and and the
00:05:07
ukrainians really didn't have at the
00:05:08
beginning either and that was something
00:05:09
we were trying to hammer into them
00:05:10
because there's a there's a kind of like
00:05:12
a joke but a saying that I remember from
00:05:14
I think it's World War II where they
00:05:16
were talking about you know
00:05:17
why their Germans were so concerned
00:05:19
about the Americans is because from the
00:05:21
lack of like the Americans don't have
00:05:22
orders they just know to go kill
00:05:24
something like they just like okay you're bored
00:05:26
you don't have anything to do go find
00:05:28
something to shoot at or go find
00:05:29
something to attack like that's that was
00:05:31
sort of the the small unit operations
00:05:33
that we had and and it does carry over
00:05:35
to modern day
00:05:36
um to an extent you know depending on
00:05:38
the wars that we're fighting in the Roe
00:05:39
and all the different yes caveats
00:05:41
everything everything is
00:05:42
situational
00:05:44
um
00:05:45
but the Russians don't have that so like
00:05:47
if you for example
00:05:50
um they centralize everything so they
00:05:52
centralized uh uh I'll set it back
00:05:56
somewhere somewhere on the east side
00:05:57
they had centralized Ammo Depot with the
00:06:00
barracks with the command post I think I
00:06:02
remember hearing it and then this or
00:06:04
another event like oh it happened
00:06:05
multiple times but there was one that
00:06:07
there and it's the Russians have allowed
00:06:10
or or said 80 guys died
00:06:13
everybody else thinks it was more like
00:06:15
three or four hundred uh because they
00:06:16
said oh there's a giant explosive Depot
00:06:19
right next to where these guys are
00:06:20
staying this whole Battalion so like
00:06:22
let's take four highmars and just see
00:06:24
what happens and so they
00:06:27
basically just wipe those all those guys
00:06:29
off the map
00:06:30
um you know whereas U.S military
00:06:32
Ukrainian military you know where do
00:06:33
they store in the high Mars right now in
00:06:35
Old Soviet Cold War nuclear shelters
00:06:38
you're never gonna hit that makes sense
00:06:39
in the thing they should know where they
00:06:41
are
00:06:42
somehow I guess they forgot those Maps
00:06:44
too so they can't seem to knock those
00:06:46
guys out either that's some serious
00:06:48
income like I get
00:06:50
knowing where it is but not being able
00:06:51
to do anything about it because it's a
00:06:53
nuclear hardened bunker but if you don't
00:06:55
even know where it is and you're the
00:06:57
guys who built it in the first place and
00:06:59
you know where you drive in and out of
00:07:00
there's I don't know how many entrances
00:07:01
exes there are these places but like
00:07:03
there's only a finite amount if you
00:07:04
built it you would know yeah so you can
00:07:06
be like okay so if we just collapse
00:07:08
these we can at least keep those in
00:07:10
there no they can't even do that
00:07:21
the amount of money that dude's made is
00:07:23
insane off this whole situation I don't
00:07:25
know that It ultimately is going to work
00:07:26
out well for him no but you might not
00:07:28
live to see it because all the oligarchs
00:07:30
are getting knocked off too yeah
00:07:31
uh from your perspective having been
00:07:33
over there and actively training
00:07:35
um a bunch of the ukrainians how well do
00:07:38
you think they're taking those those
00:07:40
lessons of more of a western style of
00:07:42
operation well they lost
00:07:45
I'm just saying I mean not yet it's
00:07:47
supposed to be a pure Force right and
00:07:49
Ukraine was supposed to be one of the
00:07:51
weakest and most corrupt militaries in
00:07:53
the world yes I have heard that and it
00:07:55
looks like Russia strong yeah and I
00:07:58
don't think it's I think that was a big
00:08:00
old lie
00:08:01
uh I mean
00:08:03
like the situation on the ground doesn't
00:08:06
doesn't lie
00:08:08
if it wasn't true Ukraine wouldn't be
00:08:10
there anymore yeah but somehow they are
00:08:12
exactly
00:08:13
um I mean I was thinking more on an
00:08:14
individual level like you're going and
00:08:16
you're talking to discrete small units
00:08:19
and you're telling like okay we
00:08:21
recognize like your military
00:08:23
foundational training back to you know
00:08:26
World War II was under this same
00:08:28
soviet-style system here's the
00:08:31
alternative I I'm assuming that it's
00:08:34
something that's being pretty eagerly
00:08:37
um acquired on the Ukrainian side yep um
00:08:39
so you know I showed up end of last year
00:08:41
so they had some time before that so the
00:08:44
the guys that I worked with specifically
00:08:46
when I said you know our neighbors to
00:08:47
the north I meant the Canadians so they
00:08:50
had spent some time with them training
00:08:51
them uh the US Army had spent some time
00:08:53
training with them uh so they they had
00:08:56
the the the basic structure that was
00:08:59
needed and
00:09:01
again you're so institutionalized to
00:09:03
like this is how things go and this is
00:09:04
how the military is supposed to be it's
00:09:05
hard to break that tradition so it was
00:09:08
I took it upon myself a little bit more
00:09:10
than I probably should have because
00:09:12
you're supposed to respect the chain of
00:09:13
command of people you're working with
00:09:14
and not impose yourself
00:09:16
um but definitely was like Hey guys like
00:09:18
like we'll do a training event right
00:09:20
I'll kill the lieutenant right off the
00:09:21
bat what do you do and they're like oh
00:09:23
I'm like well now you don't now you're
00:09:24
all dead too because you didn't know
00:09:26
what to do that's why this is important
00:09:27
they're like oh yeah we remembered that
00:09:29
lesson like okay well now we need to
00:09:30
work on that lesson again okay
00:09:32
um and so and I think the the more units
00:09:35
work the more the units work the Western
00:09:36
Union
00:09:37
militaries the more that gets done okay
00:09:41
so it's just about exposure level I
00:09:44
assume it's things like that are sinking
00:09:46
in faster and better with special forces
00:09:48
yes than they are like at the other end
00:09:50
of the spectrum with territorial defense
00:09:51
yes but did you see any of that up close
00:09:53
like
00:09:54
how well is is a rear you know a bottom
00:09:58
tier sort of unit like a territorial
00:10:00
defense group how well are they adapting
00:10:01
to this sort of change
00:10:03
um
00:10:04
not I didn't have a bunch experience
00:10:06
with them uh they they were very eager
00:10:09
to learn anything okay
00:10:11
um and so I think a lot of it stems to
00:10:13
even though you know the great Ukrainian
00:10:15
Army the special forces of tdf the
00:10:16
National Guard all those guys
00:10:18
um I think all of them have the same
00:10:20
Drive same goal same motivation the
00:10:22
problem is they just don't have the time
00:10:24
to be trained and they don't there's not
00:10:25
enough people in country or none of guys
00:10:27
that can ship out to train in Britain
00:10:29
and Spain and Italy wherever they're
00:10:31
getting done
00:10:32
um
00:10:33
to be able to get that exposure and
00:10:36
that's just not enough resources yeah
00:10:37
because you take all those guys out
00:10:38
who's gonna fight the war and then it's
00:10:39
right that's a problem then that's even
00:10:41
bigger issue you know
00:10:44
why haven't the Russians taken up this
00:10:46
sort of lesson
00:10:47
you're talking about two armies where
00:10:49
they're fundamentally pretty on par with
00:10:51
each other structurally to begin with
00:10:53
and the ukrainians have made these
00:10:55
significant improvements and advances
00:10:59
and the Russians haven't the Russians
00:11:00
have a lot more resources at their
00:11:02
disposal in theory allegedly well they
00:11:05
did uh I mean there's there's a thing
00:11:07
saying that what the Ukrainian tank
00:11:10
numbers have like more than doubled and
00:11:12
not from Western Vehicles like
00:11:15
I don't I don't have I don't have the
00:11:16
answer for that because
00:11:18
you look at I mean look at all the the
00:11:20
wars that that Russia's fought where
00:11:22
this is the same thing like there was a
00:11:24
um a real famous video from I want to
00:11:26
say it was chechnya
00:11:28
um where the a Russian unit went in
00:11:32
um and the Cheshire Rebels they went to
00:11:34
they ended up at a train yard I'm not
00:11:36
sure if you're familiar with the story
00:11:37
no they were all annihilated to the man
00:11:40
um and it was like this four or five day
00:11:42
thing and then they had to they had to
00:11:43
they tried to bring some guys into belt
00:11:45
to bail them out and they all got killed
00:11:46
and it was just you know and this was in
00:11:49
the 90s right yeah
00:11:50
um so you'd think
00:11:53
you think they learned but then look at
00:11:55
the US Military
00:11:57
we learn lessons and then we forget them
00:11:59
it's true
00:12:00
you know we I can't I can't sit here and
00:12:02
say that we're you know we're not also
00:12:04
guilty of the same thing ukrainians are
00:12:06
perhaps better motivated oh yeah I got a
00:12:08
lot more uh on the line yeah yeah like
00:12:10
we can go to record Afghanistan like who
00:12:12
gives a [ __ ] because we're gonna go back
00:12:13
home to the US because my family isn't
00:12:14
being threatened whereas they're like if
00:12:16
I if I lose here
00:12:18
my wife and my children in my way of
00:12:19
life is literally going to be crushed
00:12:21
Beyond existence so
00:12:23
you know the yeah the motivation's a
00:12:25
little higher on their end but
00:12:28
you know the Russians have are leaning
00:12:30
and having leaning heavily on artillery
00:12:31
okay that is the traditionally Russian
00:12:34
thing to do yeah um
00:12:36
and it's worked well for them in the
00:12:38
past um and it's it's working decently well
00:12:40
for them still but it's not going to win
00:12:42
the war
00:12:45
I'm just going to stretch it out yeah
00:12:46
it's just we're just going to grind and
00:12:48
slog like we have been and
00:12:50
that's that's that
00:12:53
do you have any insight into Ukrainian
00:12:55
domestic Small Arms production I know
00:12:57
there are a number of interesting
00:12:59
Ukrainian uh firearm systems out there
00:13:02
their copy of the Tavor they've got
00:13:04
their own indigenous Bullpup
00:13:06
um did you see any of that is it
00:13:08
substantial at all
00:13:11
um I know the the 545 divorce is it's a
00:13:14
pretty
00:13:15
pretty large amount they're making
00:13:17
domestically the malukes that weird
00:13:19
Bullpup thing um I never got to play
00:13:21
with one I saw them like from afar uh
00:13:23
never got to play with one so I can't
00:13:25
really talk on talk on that
00:13:27
um you know they had the the Bullpup
00:13:29
kits for the 74s those were kind of neat
00:13:31
right um
00:13:32
and that's I think that's becoming the
00:13:33
way of the world if you look at you know
00:13:36
Siri is doing that Africa is doing that
00:13:37
Ukraine is doing that
00:13:39
um I don't know why I mean I get the
00:13:42
small package thing but I don't yeah
00:13:43
it's just bullpups aren't yeah I mean I
00:13:46
know you like the Famas so much but like
00:13:47
they're just not yeah but that's because
00:13:49
I'm biased yeah
00:13:53
so I'm not really um I mean not a ton I
00:13:56
know they're they're making it um they
00:13:58
have the supplies to do it they've got
00:14:00
the infrastructure
00:14:01
um all their manufacturing used to be in
00:14:03
the nanetsk and Don boss region and then
00:14:06
now it's it's been moved since that's
00:14:07
been in Crimea like all that's been
00:14:09
moved out to West Tel Aviv and stuff we
00:14:11
packed up factories and moved them west
00:14:13
of the Euros yeah
00:14:15
where did we hear that before I forget
00:14:19
oh man
00:14:20
um so we were setting up a
00:14:25
a range to do some some sniper training
00:14:27
and uh a drone found us
00:14:30
and uh started calling in artillery
00:14:33
honest and and we moved in
00:14:35
out of there fast and obviously we're
00:14:37
still alive but
00:14:39
um you know that doesn't isn't always
00:14:40
how it plays out
00:14:42
um actually on uh this last previous
00:14:44
Monday my friend Shimon was was killed
00:14:48
in artillery strike he was a senior NCO
00:14:50
with a unit out there and so that was
00:14:52
that was kind of shitty but
00:14:54
um
00:14:55
that's what it is it is a war yep it's a
00:14:58
real war yep real casualties and uh he
00:15:01
was a guy that I was trying to help get
00:15:03
you know um
00:15:04
they're developing right now uh thermal
00:15:07
regulating ghillie suits oh so you can
00:15:10
do Visual and thermal yeah and so me and
00:15:13
him have been in contact like weekly
00:15:14
about trying to get him some uh you know
00:15:17
figuring out how we can get that
00:15:19
exported while still following itar
00:15:21
which you know because there's all that
00:15:22
stuff that goes on so I was like well
00:15:23
I'm sure we can find a way
00:15:25
um and then obviously now that's not
00:15:27
really needed anymore unfortunately
00:15:29
um well it certainly still is oh it's
00:15:31
needed yeah but I mean you know my my
00:15:32
personal uh connection to that's not
00:15:34
right
00:15:36
sorry
00:15:39
standing is there's like a two-tier
00:15:40
organization to Wagner you've got the
00:15:43
core like the Blackwater types who are
00:15:45
professional
00:15:46
you could call mercenaries or
00:15:48
professional military contractors and
00:15:50
they've been working all over the world
00:15:52
Wagner was deployed I think fairly
00:15:54
extensively across parts of Africa as
00:15:56
part of a you know resource Gathering
00:15:59
influence building sorts of operations
00:16:02
and then as the war heats up then you
00:16:05
also have like the the Wagner cannon
00:16:07
fodder core
00:16:09
and they're sort of two discreet
00:16:10
elements that fall into the same
00:16:12
organization yeah yeah so the the Canon
00:16:14
flutter side of it is definitely more
00:16:16
recent within the last year development
00:16:18
and don't forget they're also in Syria
00:16:19
and they had a couple events there that
00:16:22
we can talk about in one second
00:16:24
um but yeah so they they had the like
00:16:27
you said the professional soldiers who
00:16:28
are actually
00:16:30
pretty well trained and pretty well
00:16:32
clipped and somebody a group of guys
00:16:34
that like I would
00:16:35
I wouldn't mind going up against but I
00:16:37
would definitely say the Lord's prayer
00:16:39
before I left the gate kind of like this
00:16:41
could get hairy and maybe I won't make
00:16:42
it home kind of dudes um but the the
00:16:45
prisoner side of it those guys were Ken
00:16:47
Potter I've heard stories and anecdotes
00:16:48
from either captured guys or captured
00:16:50
other or Russian personnel
00:16:51
of them either been giving a rifle and
00:16:55
like three mags in a grenade and being
00:16:57
like save the grenade because that's for
00:16:58
yourself go or they won't even give it
00:17:00
on the firearm and they'll give them a
00:17:01
shovel they'll say I need you to get to
00:17:03
this trench and start or this area start
00:17:05
digging so that way these guys can come
00:17:07
up and take that and then you go forward
00:17:09
and they Leap Frog not as an assault
00:17:12
unit but as a forward defensive
00:17:14
emplacement unit that's a new take on
00:17:17
combat engineers yeah not one I'd ever
00:17:20
want to be part of no no I don't think
00:17:21
so
00:17:23
so I mean yeah they're
00:17:25
like I said they're they're for the
00:17:26
professional side of them are are
00:17:28
professional
00:17:30
um do you have any insight into whether
00:17:32
they actually like husbanded the
00:17:34
professional soldiers and kept them safe
00:17:37
and alive or were they kind of torn up
00:17:40
in the meat grinder alongside everyone
00:17:41
else they they definitely were torn up
00:17:43
but they were given favoritism
00:17:45
absolutely um you know if there was so
00:17:47
they I think they call them the penal
00:17:49
shock battalions or some sort of
00:17:50
variation of that phrase it's a very
00:17:52
Russian phrase yeah and the Russian
00:17:54
military those guys that survived the
00:17:56
wagon coup have now been rolled into the
00:17:59
Russian army in the same role so
00:18:02
nothing's changed for these guys except
00:18:03
the patch on their shoulder and they're
00:18:04
still not going to paycheck they're
00:18:06
still you know and then the guys that
00:18:07
are getting that are surviving are
00:18:08
getting released back and there have
00:18:10
been reports that I've heard about where
00:18:12
uh most recently this last weekend
00:18:13
weekend before there was a report of a
00:18:15
dude went home somewhere in eastern
00:18:17
Russia and killed six people
00:18:19
so these Wagner these convicts are
00:18:21
getting out taking all their money going
00:18:23
home getting Hammer drunk and killing
00:18:24
their neighbors so it's like
00:18:27
was this a good idea I don't know
00:18:32
reports are mixed but probably not a
00:18:34
good idea yeah for all sorts of reasons
00:18:36
yeah that wouldn't fly here all right so
00:18:38
Wagner in Syria what what's the uh I
00:18:41
think I know what you're referring to
00:18:42
here yeah so there was an event I want
00:18:45
to say it was 2016 or 2017
00:18:48
I might be completely wrong on the date
00:18:49
but there was a group of I want to say
00:18:53
it was their Rangers or 82nd supporting
00:18:55
a SF unit securing a
00:18:59
um
00:19:02
uh oil refinery okay and a group of
00:19:06
combatants we are we're getting
00:19:09
extremely close to this Refinery and
00:19:13
there's the Open Line communication
00:19:14
between the Russian mod and the US
00:19:16
government so that way it's a
00:19:17
de-escalation area of like we stay out
00:19:19
of this you stayed at it you know but
00:19:20
this was a period where there were
00:19:21
Russians acknowledge Russian presence in
00:19:24
Syria as well as American presence in
00:19:26
Syria and you can see how that gets
00:19:27
touching and this is also back when
00:19:29
Wagner was a
00:19:31
non-agreed-upon contracting company so
00:19:33
because Contracting firms are illegal in
00:19:35
Russia right
00:19:36
but so when they're not right except
00:19:38
when they're not but then who they're
00:19:40
like where's the money coming from and
00:19:41
so only recently went last like month or
00:19:42
so
00:19:43
um the Kremlin has
00:19:45
told everybody oh yes we are bankrolling
00:19:48
these guys so technically they're not contractors they're part of the they're
00:19:50
under the Ministries offense but they're
00:19:51
not I don't know how that all really
00:19:52
works out so the secret ingredient is
00:19:55
corruption right the secret ingredient
00:19:56
it's crime
00:19:59
um and so you know we call we the US
00:20:02
government calls our Russian hotline go
00:20:04
hey guys um
00:20:06
if this is you guys
00:20:08
don't and they're like we don't have any
00:20:10
guys and they're like okay
00:20:12
if this is you guys tell us no we don't
00:20:15
have to be in the area third time I
00:20:16
guess they called like six times or
00:20:18
something significant de-escalation
00:20:19
attempt
00:20:21
um they said no we don't have anybody
00:20:22
there and we're talking
00:20:24
um you know bdrms apcs tanks like there
00:20:26
it was a full-on okay group of a couple
00:20:28
hundred guys
00:20:29
and then they all got [ __ ] schwepped
00:20:31
by some Apaches all of them and some
00:20:34
artillery and they just got absolutely
00:20:36
just destroyed and come to find out it
00:20:40
was the Syrian Army with Wagner oops and
00:20:43
yeah oops and so if you look online and
00:20:46
you can find some of these pictures of
00:20:47
these medals I think there was like
00:20:49
you know eight to ten maybe I don't know
00:20:51
very small number of guys that survived
00:20:52
and they got medals and the metals
00:20:54
depict the Russians shooting I want to
00:20:56
say sa-7s at Apaches and not you know
00:20:59
and shooting them down which didn't
00:21:01
happen because there was zero loss how
00:21:02
many Apaches did got lost
00:21:09
oh that's harsh I mean it's almost like
00:21:13
we're technologically advanced I don't
00:21:15
know what happened here
00:21:17
I assume you're of the opinion that
00:21:19
Ukraine will ultimately be victorious in
00:21:21
this conflict
00:21:23
I do uh but there is the fact that
00:21:26
Russia just has more people so if we can
00:21:28
if they're gonna grind it out like
00:21:30
they're doing right now and they're
00:21:31
having these defensive lines that are
00:21:33
10 miles deep or something like that
00:21:35
that are a thousand miles long it's just
00:21:37
an insane level of
00:21:39
fortifications if the ukrainians can't
00:21:41
get through that and push the Russians
00:21:43
out and they just get bogged down they
00:21:45
can get killed by artillery from afar
00:21:47
and their the problem is is that Ukraine
00:21:50
just doesn't have this they don't have
00:21:52
millions of people it sounds like a
00:21:54
World War one problem yeah this turns
00:21:55
into a stalemate yep and who who bleeds
00:21:58
out first from a stalemate yeah and and
00:22:00
I think Ukraine will bleed out first
00:22:01
because they just don't have the numbers
00:22:02
it's a small country even with well I
00:22:05
mean it's not that small right it's
00:22:06
smaller in Russia yeah it's true even
00:22:09
with the technological support I think
00:22:11
from the West
00:22:13
yeah and going back to the you know
00:22:15
technology it only works if you have
00:22:16
batteries kind of thing it's true you
00:22:17
know if you only if you've got guys that
00:22:18
pull the trigger it's fantastic but if
00:22:20
you run out of dudes you run out of
00:22:21
women that's all it is and and that's
00:22:23
the thing that Russia is doing right now
00:22:24
to keep those numbers down because we
00:22:26
all
00:22:27
you know there's a giant Gap in what
00:22:30
they say is it what we say it is and
00:22:31
somewhere in between is going to be the
00:22:33
real number right
00:22:34
um but a lot of the guys that they're
00:22:36
losing they're not from around Moscow
00:22:38
they're not from those areas right
00:22:39
they're from the Far East where no these
00:22:41
little Podunk towns where nobody if they
00:22:44
don't have running water or like indoor
00:22:46
plumbing yeah and so when those guys die
00:22:49
the government doesn't care because it's
00:22:50
not it's not there for the people the
00:22:52
people don't see it the people in those
00:22:53
little towns see it they don't have
00:22:54
internet access so they can't talk about
00:22:55
it you know so you can lose a million of
00:22:58
those people yeah that's true and Putin
00:23:01
doesn't give a [ __ ] you know I care as a
00:23:04
humanitarian like that's a horrible
00:23:05
thing to do like you shouldn't just go
00:23:07
through a million lives away for
00:23:08
something like this or for anything but
00:23:12
they have the ability to do that that's
00:23:13
true and I think
00:23:15
once what's going to be their ultimate
00:23:18
downfall is when they run out of those
00:23:19
people if Ukraine still has guys left
00:23:21
and they start pulling from the Moscow
00:23:23
suburbs and the people that welcome to
00:23:26
Vietnam then you're going to have that
00:23:28
same problem uh you know same thing they
00:23:30
had in the Soviet uh Invasion
00:23:32
Afghanistan uh right you know because
00:23:35
once you can see those gravestones and
00:23:37
those Fallen guys and you know them it
00:23:39
becomes you become anti-war very quickly
00:23:41
I
00:23:42
absolutely believe that so
00:23:45
all right well uh thank you for joining
00:23:48
us again it was fun to get some more
00:23:49
insight into the the ongoing war in
00:23:52
Ukraine uh hopefully you guys enjoyed it
00:23:54
as well let me know down in the comments
00:23:55
thanks for watching

Description:

https://utreon.com/c/forgottenweapons/ https://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons http://www.floatplane.com/channel/ForgottenWeapons Cool Forgotten Weapons merch! https://www.varusteleka.com/en/category/forgotten-weapons-merchandise/2852 Back by popular demand, we have Neil Vermillion again today. We're talking about his experiences while volunteering as a trainer for troops in Ukraine. We're going to discuss why the Russians underperformed so badly, what the Ukrainians are doing well to adapt and improve, and perhaps why he has a somewhat scorched Wagner patch on his wall... Contact: Forgotten Weapons 6281 N. Oracle 36270 Tucson, AZ 85740

Preparing download options

popular icon
Popular
hd icon
HD video
audio icon
Only sound
total icon
All
* — If the video is playing in a new tab, go to it, then right-click on the video and select "Save video as..."
** — Link intended for online playback in specialized players

Questions about downloading video

mobile menu iconHow can I download "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion" video?mobile menu icon

  • http://unidownloader.com/ website is the best way to download a video or a separate audio track if you want to do without installing programs and extensions.

  • The UDL Helper extension is a convenient button that is seamlessly integrated into YouTube, Instagram and OK.ru sites for fast content download.

  • UDL Client program (for Windows) is the most powerful solution that supports more than 900 websites, social networks and video hosting sites, as well as any video quality that is available in the source.

  • UDL Lite is a really convenient way to access a website from your mobile device. With its help, you can easily download videos directly to your smartphone.

mobile menu iconWhich format of "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion" video should I choose?mobile menu icon

  • The best quality formats are FullHD (1080p), 2K (1440p), 4K (2160p) and 8K (4320p). The higher the resolution of your screen, the higher the video quality should be. However, there are other factors to consider: download speed, amount of free space, and device performance during playback.

mobile menu iconWhy does my computer freeze when loading a "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion" video?mobile menu icon

  • The browser/computer should not freeze completely! If this happens, please report it with a link to the video. Sometimes videos cannot be downloaded directly in a suitable format, so we have added the ability to convert the file to the desired format. In some cases, this process may actively use computer resources.

mobile menu iconHow can I download "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion" video to my phone?mobile menu icon

  • You can download a video to your smartphone using the website or the PWA application UDL Lite. It is also possible to send a download link via QR code using the UDL Helper extension.

mobile menu iconHow can I download an audio track (music) to MP3 "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion"?mobile menu icon

  • The most convenient way is to use the UDL Client program, which supports converting video to MP3 format. In some cases, MP3 can also be downloaded through the UDL Helper extension.

mobile menu iconHow can I save a frame from a video "Why Are the Russians So Bad? War Stories from Ukraine with Neil Vermillion"?mobile menu icon

  • This feature is available in the UDL Helper extension. Make sure that "Show the video snapshot button" is checked in the settings. A camera icon should appear in the lower right corner of the player to the left of the "Settings" icon. When you click on it, the current frame from the video will be saved to your computer in JPEG format.

mobile menu iconWhat's the price of all this stuff?mobile menu icon

  • It costs nothing. Our services are absolutely free for all users. There are no PRO subscriptions, no restrictions on the number or maximum length of downloaded videos.