I’m sorry, notaglobalsuperpower says what? Because until Russia invaded Ukraine, Russia had convinced most of the world, including itself, that it was a near-peer to the US like China. Most people in the west and elsewhere, myself and putin included, expected Russia to completely steamroll over Ukraine in a matter of days to weeks.

… But then we got to watch as they paradropped elite troops into the middle cities, forgot that tanks needed infantry support, experienced logistical failures a mile from the border, started depleting stockpiles that were supposedly much deeper, and began conscripting undesirables for a meatgrinder …

Russia is big and has a lot of nukes, people, and equipment: but it’s no soviet union. If the new narrative is that the third largest power on the planet is equal to Italy and that somehow makes you feel better: be my guest.