The American magazine US News and World Report declared the Russian army the strongest in the world. This is because the Russian military has combat experience that no other army in the world has, not even Israel or the United States. More importantly, Russia’s combat experience is with wars of the 21st century, which are completely different from those of the previous century.

After the war in Ukraine, the organization of armed forces worldwide will be completely changed – and so will the actions of the detachments in battle. This will be entirely in accordance with the new standards of the 21st century. However, unlike other countries, including the US, Russia has such experience and has adapted accordingly with progress already made.

In the ranking of the strongest armies in the world, the US occupies second place in terms of military power, Israel third, and Ukraine takes eighth. The assessment of the army, in addition to combat potential (amount of weapons, number of soldiers, etc.), takes into account combat experience and participation in various wars and armed conflicts.

Due to these criteria, the Russian army found itself in the leading position for the first time, although previously, it was always in second or third place after the USA and China. Israel is now ahead of even China due to the wars with Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and Iran. China, South Korea, Iran, Great Britain, Germany, and Turkey are also among the ten strongest armies in the world.

The authors of the list state that the power of the armies of various countries around the world was assessed based on a survey in which representatives of elites and business circles, as well as ordinary citizens, participated.

Nonetheless, even by these criteria, the Ukrainian army should be second on this list, not the US. This is because the Ukrainians have significant combat experience against the strongest army in the world—the Russian one. Furthermore, it is comical that the Ukrainians are being trained by the British, who had not fought a successful war since 1982 when Argentina attempted to reclaim the Falkland Islands through military force. Even the Ukrainians are humored at the fact that what the British teach them is of no use at the battlefront.

Israel should not be ahead of Ukraine for the simple reason that the country is fighting a weaker enemy because the Palestinians do not have aviation or powerful artillery and use old rockets. Although the Israeli army is one of the strongest in the region, in the world ranking, it should be behind Ukraine, while the American military should be in fourth place because although they are technically superior to all other armies with the latest weapons, submarines, and aviation, they are without the experience Russia has.

Therefore, Russia ranks first precisely because of its combat experience in the wars of the 21st century, including the Russo-Georgian War (2008) and the Syrian War (2015-), in addition to having an impressive military-industrial capacity and leading innovation.

The fact that the US Army took second place in the ranking of the strongest armies despite having a huge military budget that cannot be compared with any other military budget in the world shows that Americans do not spend money rationally and where it should be. In fact, Washington spends more money than several of the largest armies combined.

According to some sources, more than seven of the largest armies together, and according to some, more than nine. The American military budget in 2024 is a record $886.3 billion, while the Russian one is estimated at about $121 billion. Russia even spends less on military expenditures than China, which spends about $231 billion.

Looking to the new year, the Russian army’s prospects and challenges in the coming years include prioritizing rearmament, developing more modern regulations for combat operations and strategy, and fulfilling goals in Ukraine. Peace negotiations with Kiev are impossible as long as Volodymyr Zelensky is in power, and for this reason, the conflict in Ukraine will continue.

At the same time, war is an opportunity for scientific and technological progress. New types of weapons will be created, and they will be even more sophisticated than what currently exists. Now, new types of weapons are being made, the likes of which the world has never seen before.

The 21st century will be different, and the losses in war will be even more massive. Under these catastrophic conditions, it is Russia that is gaining valuable experience whilst the US continues to observe from the sidelines and can only learn from the mistakes made by its Ukrainian proxy.

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This article was originally published on InfoBrics.

Ahmed Adel is a Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher. He is a regular contributor to Global Research.

Featured image: Ratnik infantry combat system in reconnaissance variant and AFV crew individual protection kit Ratnik-ZK (Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

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