Hm... I'll (respectfully) disagree with several points here.
For example:
Hm... I'll (respectfully) disagree with several points here.
For example:
1.) Characterising the Ukrainians as 'a conventional Western force'. Sorry, really, by best respect, but that's silly. For most of the last 8 years, all the possible NATO-instructors in Ukraine had nothing but complaints about Ukrainians. Foremost because they didn't train the way NATO is trained - to fight COIN, because for the last 30+ years NATO didn't fight anything else but COIN. I.e. because they wee NOT doing things the way the NATO would. This went so far that because Ukrainians weren't 'competent' to 'follow NATO advice', all the Western intel services were expecting Ukrainians to fold, and that to the degree where the FSB found out about this and thus became convinced that they would fold - and told Putin they would fold, thus recommending him to launch this idiotic aggression....while actually: NATO had nothing to teach Ukrainians. It never fought a major conventional war against a peer opponent.
....of course, like they say that 'victory has many fathers, defeat (usually) just one'.... now all the NATO (incl. the USA in particular) is 'ah so proud, for we trained Ukrainians'.
....I laugh when I read that even USAF F-15-pilots are proud for that teason...
If they did: WTF can't Ukrainian Su-27-pilots fly their air strikes in the way they should....? (and that would be 'just the start').
2.) Ukraine would have to match the Russian air power... where is that 'Russian air power', please? Come on: be specific. Where is it?
3.) Finally, sorry, but perhaps it's so that I was never paid to fame the VSRF/RFA (as was in fashion for the mass of - especially - US and German think-tanks and talking heads of the last 7-8 years), or whatever other reason, but, had you read my Moscow's Game of Poker, I've plainly said it: no, the Russians are no match for NATO, and their 'military performance' in Syria - in fight against 'pharmacists, doctors and teachers' - was a tragicomedy, mildly expressed. Definitely a far cry from 'super-turbo-modern, latest equipment', as babbled even by such like Kujat, not to talk about an entire 'army' of US experts.
If this is something like 'my disappointing performance' for you, so be it. Just mind: I tend to call a spade a spade, and thus there's no way around the conclusion that the Russian military under Putin is a brilliant example of dictatorship-imposed incompetence.