Is Mearsheimer Right About Kursk?
Thinking Like Putin Doesn’t Make Him Putin
From Mearsheimer’s “The Kursk Offensive: A Foolish Move” 8/17/24
The key determinant of success in a war of attrition is the casualty-exchange ratio, not capturing territory, which Western commentators obsess over. The casualty-exchange ratio in the Kursk offensive decisively favours Russia for two reasons. First, it has caused relatively few Russian casualties because Ukraine’s army effectively overran undefended territory.
Second, once alerted to the attack, Moscow quickly brought massive airpower to bear against the advancing Ukrainian troops, who were in the open and easy to strike. Unsurprisingly, the attacking forces lost many soldiers and a huge proportion of their equipment.
If you’re moving out in the open and don’t have air cover you’re presenting the other side with a huge number of targets.
On Medium, Meirsheimer’s take on the war is contentious, to say the least. Dylan Combellick was not amused. Many feel he is a Putinist. He may be. I feel the real anger at him is based on his unromantic view of nations. (see Frank Faiola’s John Mearsheimer is Wrong About Ukraine). However…
Let’s looking at some unforgiving numbers. Russia collects around $300 million a day in revenues from…
