Please keep in mind that this comments section is very likely to have disinformation actors/trolls due to the nature of this conflict. It's likely not representative of actual opinions.

“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars” *All hail Lord General Amazon*

They aren’t sanctions. They’re special economic operations.

The logistics "push" approach is a holdover from the Soviet-era doctrine of planning everything centrally. Civilian supplies were planned five years at a time, so the military was positively speedy in comparison

Or to put it into words of a NATO analyst: Russian military is designed to defend the country. And so relying for example on its rail network makes sense. But it's not good for offensive actions. The US military is the opposite: It's built to attack other countries, no matter where on the planet. And they have the experience to do so. It's also quite logical from an historical point of view how their militaries developed during the last centuries. I wouldn't say that very western country would be better with logistics, it's also a matter of experience and they're pretty dependend on each others (just think about the retreat from Afghanistan - hardly a logistical masterpiece). Of course there are also other factors, like stricter hierarchy within the Russian military, different approach to morale and training. So it's not a good military for invading other countries and having to fight there for a long time. And when intelligence fails and the leaders think it'll be just a short trip without resistence failure is imminent. Invading Russia on the other side might be hard for any attacker. Maybe they should've sticked to defense...

When there's logistics and supply chain involved, you know this is the go-to channel!

"Infantry wins battles, Logistics wins wars" -John Perishing

There is a supposed story from WW2 where an Axis soldiers and his buddies captured a shipment of US supplies, and found it contained various baked goods, shipped from the US in a short time and still fresh. And the soldier said he realized that if the US had the logistic resources to rush ship cup cakes and pies to their troops, while his side struggled to even supply ammo or fuel without huge delays…..that their side was doomed.

Wendover is clearly trying to villainize trains in order to forward his pro-airplane agenda

And if a UKpostsr can put this all together, imagine what the intelligence community is making of it!

Awesome video very well done making the complex subject of military logistics simple. Great Job Guys!

First rule of attacking another country: Never assume the best case. Shit will go wrong. Enemy troops will fight harder than expected. Expect and plan for the worst case. If the worst case does not occur, you can be happily surprised!

This is better produced than half the docs I've seen on any war, let alone one that's currently going on.

Excellent summary! “Amateurs think tactics, professionals think logistics.” Thank-you for pulling together all these bits of information.

And now Russia abandoned all position North and Northeast of Kiev in something that can only described as "humiliating retreat"

I remember studying WW2 at school. WW2 in Europe was won by a combination of materiel & logistics support into Europe, and Russian ability to move their forces within the borders of Russia - coupled with the harsh winter in Eastern Europe plains (Ukraine & Western Russia). It seems nothing has changed. US can ship its materiel very effectively globally (good for empire building) Russia is focused within its borders. (Good for defense of 'motherland')

And this is why UKposts is so successful, people like you who are able to create such great content that the regular tv just fails to get right at all today!

Wendover always managed to make Logistics endlessly fascinating and relevant.

When Amazon has better logistics than the Russian military

Wooow this is so well-made. My new favorite youtube channel.

Fantastic, thorough video. Shows how quickly and effectively your research team can move. Logistics.

An important video that masterfully breaks down two complex topics to the masses: 1) the importance of logistics 2) the stupidity of filming vertically

Congrats on being so reliable that Vice News used clips from you in their videos! Source: The Ethical Hackers at War With Putin. 2:45

Very informative! This war is an example of how wars are very unpredictable in their outcomes. This is only one reason, among many, why wars are to be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Nations often get into wars because they assume that they are going to win, and then those assumptions do not play out.

Well done, Sam. Sincerely, a real human person and not a bot.

It is extremely important to remember that while the russian military leaders expected a quick war, their soldiers expected the population to welcome them with open arms to defeat the nazis in control.

It is astounding how well this video has stood up two months later.

Outstanding presentation. Well done.

Logistics is also where the Germans failed during WW2. They got stuck in Russia during the winter with no fuel, no ammunition, no food, and no winter clothes.

The big bad convoy in the North of Kyiv is a perfect description of Russia's logistical failure- it is a 64 km traffic jam where vehicles in the front have stalled due to lack of fuel, and are waiting till fuel arrives from the depo far back. Not to mention that vehicles in the middle and tail are wasting fuel by idling their engines to run heating, comms, and other functions like for example, AA vehicles. Since mud season has started, they are locked to roads like in Winter war, meaning they can't even send their units from the middle to go around. Thanks for the likes and (mostly) civilized conversation in replies.

Awesome production 👌 For anyone who would like. An even deeper dive into this subject and similar ones, I would like to suggest the channel Perun. Excellent and informative, a bit simpler visual style, more like a podcast or presentation. Each video usually 30-60 minutes once a week. Ish.

Excellent breakdown well illustrated! Thank You

It’s crazy that Russia has had so many communication issues they’ve been communicating without encryption for most of this invasion. That’s a massive no no for a military. You HAVE to be able to talk without the enemy listening in. If our patrols don’t have encrypted communications setup they do not leave the wire and if one of our encryption devices becomes unaccounted for the entire theater has to change comsec immediately.

This is how Finland held back Russian forces for months in the 2nd world war. Finns didn't even have proper anti-tank weapons. They didn't have any tanks or armored vehicles that would have been relevant. They ran up to the tanks with satchel charges, rammed logs into the tracks, and came up with the Molotov's cocktail. But the main reason why the USSR forces were held back for so long, was their logistics failing. The soldiers were hungry, demoralized, and freezing in the Finnish winter. Finnish guerilla fighters were striking their supply trucks, which often traveled unprotected. The soviet war machine was heavily reliant on roads, so Finns mined the roads and set up ambushes, while the Finnish forces mainly used skis and horses for logistics near the front lines.

Thank you for the summarization.

This is very well done and great job!!

"Looting" is a civilian activity. Armies or military units engage in "Plundering". Plundering is addressed in most international treaties and articles of war for the last half of a millennia.

I like your analysis and presentation hope more of your videos pop up.

Perfect! Awesome content!

I'm beyond impressed at you guys being able to get this video out so quickly, with so much information packed into it. Bravo!

I worked in Logistics during some Afghan deployments. It was a fight everyday to navigate the complex competing interests within British Logistics battle groups. Not as smooth as you think when commanders constantly concentrate on the intelligence picture. Took 10 years off my life.

16:13 was not expecting that and i absolutely love that is even happening

Many thanks for this... I found it interesting and educational.

After seeing all the dash cams and cameras capturing the train carrying tank and trucks alike, I was utterly stunned by the fact that they were preparing for the invasion years prior to today.

Logistics has always been among the top priorities of every war, even on ancient times , it was one of the main reasons Alexander The Great was so successful or even before that, why countries that lacked horses didn't had Empires as massive as those that did. If you can't move your power where it's needed, you can't use the power.

Well damnit! Out of all of the creator's advertisement's yours just made me go get a subscription to Curiosity Stream!!! Love you guy's work

Great video to document history for generations to come!

The street signs thing were a nice touch. Removing or rearranging them was what the Czechs did in '68, while 'Welcome to Hell' is what the Chechens did in the first war.

It needs to be noted that this wasn't merely a miscalculation by Russia. Every major country in the world also thought that Ukraine would fall within 3 days. Compare this to Russia's invasion of Georgia and the U.S.'s invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, and it demonstrates that modern warfare will rarely ever go according to plan. There are so many variables and conditions that can't truly be known until you set foot and machine onto the battlefield. Hopefully major powers will learn from these repeated mistakes and understand that war is far too risky, even against seemingly inferior opponents, and opt for more "peaceful" methods of coercion in the international arena.

The start of the invasion signaled the start of the end of the Russian federation

The Russian military has gone from "the second best army in the world" to "the second best army in Ukraine".

I'm increasingly reminded of a line from HBO's Chernobyl miniseries, spoken by the actor playing Gorbachev: "Our power comes from the perception of our power." It's military Lysenkoism, this mindset of making plans to fit a narrative, rather than making plans to achieve a goal. The Soviet Union may have "fallen" but the ideologies are alive and well.

The first time I heard "logistics" mentioned in news regarding the russian invasion, I instantly thought about Wendover surely will be making a video about it and here we are.

One of the better videos of this subject that I have seen in a long time

Great stocks and I just bought in on them, but I'm interested in making short term profit, let say turn a $150K to $500k in 6months, I'd appreciate tips on how what stocks to buy to make this much profit.

I’m so impressed in just how quickly Wendover can make a high quality information dense video on rapidly evolving global situation. This one and the Afghanistan evacuation are mind blowing.

You forget to mention one important aspect in russian military which touches logistics - corruption. Officers pocket resources which are directed towards vehicle maintenance for example. Simple soldiers who serve and get absolute shit pay and suffer bullying "duxi" in the military feel little loyalty for it. So stuff if they get to fix something, often spare parts or fuel are sold in civilian life to make additional profits. Or some tech like radios are sold off for their precious metals when they get their hands on it. West make due with politicians being sometimes corrupt. In russia entire system is based on having access to national resources and pocketing personally from it. From higher officers to low key individuals. Now what evidence we have for that actually manifesting directly? Food rations are 7 years old. No-one bothered to allocate resources to fix that. Or resources found someone's pocket. Captured Pansir - S1 was obviously unmaintained and haven't been taken for a spin allowing it's tires to rot. Which makes traversing off-road very dangerous. Hence abandoned vehicles left malfunctioning. Now russia's army is road bound in Ukraine's spring mud season in the north completely and that probably effects any trucks whatsoever. I wouldn't be surprised that a lot of stuff gets simply stolen before it even reaches troops on the front, while previously lack of maintenance and care effecting them now from the very start.

Very well made. Informative

Excellent, just excellent presentation. Kudos

I've gotten more information from this 20-minute video than I have from tens of hours of watching mainstream media. Amazing job dude. Thank you.

The huge land of Ukraine and those silent drones plays a big part in this. Hitting supplies are forever been in war tactics throughout human history. Thousands of tanks are nothing if they don't have fuel, same with food for soldiers to consume.

Great work

Outstanding contents 👍

This has happened again and again in history, you should mean that *someone* had learned from it. A few examples: Napoleon failed on his russian campaign because after the burning of Moscow there was no shelter for his troops. 1914 the German attack against France failed at the Marne because the Germans ran out of ammo and - surprise - were too far from their railway end points. Railway infrastructure in Belgium was destroyed. Every following attack failed after a few kilometers, because the logistics in the conquered craterfield were neigh impossible. 1944 the German attack in the Ardennes failed because they ran out of fuel. And these are only the few I know instantly.

As a former Czech army logistics officer who served (exercised) with UK's Royal logistics school, US marines, AUT and HUN officers (2003-2013) I do appreciate this highly informative and well-made video. It clearly covered almost all important aspects of field logistics and precisely revealed the massive difference between contemporary and post-soviet logistics. Honestly we did not even put into consideration Russia into any of our scenarios. Everything was focused on expeditionary logistics, rapid staging and onward movement based operations on distant territories. Who would have thought... Former eastern-block countries, Ukraine included, have a deep understanding of post-soviet technique, its strengths and weaknesses. This war clearly shows that Russia's Achille's heel is not just logistics but the people part as well. Confused and incompetent commanders, weak tactics and absence of common sense... then committing war crimes and atrocities when hungry and frustrated. This war is a complete misery at its worst.

Excellent content. Subscribing to Curiosity Stream/Wendover!

Great Documentary , lot's of Información , Well Done ! !

Another drawback to Russia is much of the equipment being fielded is soviet era tech which many military veterans in Ukraine will know how to use, and effectively. This means they can quickly train conscripted soldiers on use of captured equipment, something that most poor nations cannot do generally.

2020: Everyone is a virologist 2021: Everyone is an economist 2022: Everyone is a war analyst

I was in the sixth grade in 1979, when one of my school teachers told us that it was not that Russia didn't have food. The problem was that some of the food even got rotten on the trains because Russia lacked adequate ways to transport its products. With time, two masters, and sufficient experience at three fortune 500 companies, I learned how important logistics is for any kind of operation. It's also not a trivial subject to master.

Great job video here

9:00 - I would disagree on the Ukrainian Defense being "Guerrilla Style", the Ukrainian Military is still functioning mostly conventionally, the more Accurate description would be "Defense in depth" or "Elastic Defense" imo.

The irony is that Russia presenting itself as a greater threat than it really was is almost certainly what prompted a defensive response massive enough to shatter the presented facade.

Writing "welcome to hell" on street signs doesn't sound all that menacing until you realize that it's what Chechen fighters said to Russian units they trapped in Grozny's train station.

Awesome report!! Thank you!!

This really reminds me of the winter war the soviet union carried out against the Finnish. The general idea is, a large power takes on a seemingly inferior opponent, and hopes to defeat them quickly because of that fact. Then the larger power realizes they didn’t prepare enough and they have their incompetency put on display to the world in a humiliating manner.

I still remember how I woke up at 5:30 am from rockets. I did not understand anything, my cousin saw a giant explosion, which was just terrifying. I really hope it ends as soon as possible.

It would be cool to see an updated position on this video, particularly given the strategic importance of the Kerch Bridge into Crimea and the occupied Tokmak rail hub, and that they are both under threat as of September 2023.

Great Video

“Infantry wins battles, logistics wins wars.” Army General John J. Pershing Nailed it 👍

Russia's lack of establishment of early air superiority is a big question in a lot of minds. Surprised this was overlooked. The U.S. made sure to establish it before invading Iraq. And when the U.S. did invade, their armor units decimated Iraq's tank units at night, using superior tactics and nigh vision technology. The Russians also seem to be lacking these tools. They look like a 3rd world country out there, but the unfortunate facts are that they still have a huge nuclear arsenal, so while NATO is obviously thinking they could easily handle the Russians, they can do nothing but sit and watch for fear of nuclear Armageddon if they respond.

I feel very close to Ukraine, having adopted a boy from Luhansk. I spent a lot of time there, and in Kiev. This lovely, sad country has my full support.

This UKposts content is a time capsule. Russian aggression will forever be remembered.

When an infantry Soldier makes a mistake it can cost him or her their lives. When a logistics Soldier makes a mistake many lives are in jeopardy!! Lots of responsibility and pressure.

Damn….. it’s almost insane how all this info is already on UKposts and the war is not even over yet. Just goes to show the different times we live in and the advancement of technology. If this was the 90’s or early 2000’s, stuff like this would be found out months, if not years later.

You did well. I will definitely look into nebula.

EXCELLENT PRESENTATION ! 💯👍👍👍

Its facinating to see how information spreads in war now with the advent of social media and smartphones. Imagine how insanely different WWII would have been if this amount of near immediate information was available for all to see.

Mad respect for all Ukrainians. I'm terribly sorry this has happened to you and I'm incredibly impressed by your tenacity and morale. I hope this war will blow over soon and that you get ample help with reoperations. Thank you Wendover for your hard work in fact checking and crediting as well!

I'm so glad that we, as a society, haven't bought into calling wars something other than a war just because that's what the aggressors want. It really shows we're growing up and learning to think for ourselves.

Very informative video.

The detail about Russia's rail network being used to ferry their military equipment explains why Ukraine disabled their own rail interconnection links with Belarus and Russia. Awesome!

One of the things that you kind of did and didn't mention is that while the Russians can set up the logistics network of trainlines and pipelines, this is incredibly difficult in a country with an armed, resistant civillian population. It is also made more difficult by the fact that the Russians do not have air superiority.

Thank you for posting your excellent documentary … your work is of a standard way beyond mainstream media like CNN and BBC … your neutral and independent reporting is something mainstream has completely lost in their agenda-centred propaganda … please keep up the great work setting the standard … thank you for your service

Another great video

That last image of the old man on his balcony was truly heart-breaking. Incredibly well made video of a very sensitive topic. Keep up the good work!

What an incredible report. I've been searching for something like this for 2 weeks. None of the mainstream media is providing anything like this, so kudos man. Great work!

Very informative.

I like how war communication on social media emphasizes speed over secrecy. Ukraine may be the most effective example

Wow, this is a 100x better breakdown of the big progression, big picture and many of the details of the first week or so of the invasion than anything I’ve seen and I’ve watched and reads dozens and dozens of hours from both traditional and non-traditional media.