Before the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, I heard a general assessment of the Russian army, it was dominant.  Military experts feared that the Russian army could steamroll through Europe.  I heard this from connected people, reporting what leaders told them.

Vladimir Putin projected high confidence.  He talked big.  He gave a fearsome impression of what his military could do.  Russia seemed a weak economy and shrinking, depressed population with a still very competitive military capacity.

The war with Ukraine tells a different story about the Russian military.  It has inflicted damage on Ukraine, but it looks like it’s losing to what most everyone calls an inferior power.

What is wrong with the Russian army?   The ineffectiveness relates to the Russian culture.  Atheistic communism devastated Russia.  Before that and after, Russian Orthodoxy is an empty false religion that does not preach a true gospel.  God’s Word is not the authority for the Russian Orthodox and it rejects salvation through Christ alone by grace alone.

Russian beliefs undermine Russian character.  The personal traits needed for military strength come from the internal, spiritual fortitude of the soldiers.  Russia does not fight out of true conviction, substantiated by transcendent values.  Soldiers need a basis for laying everything on the line.  Without an inward confidence that someone possesses through righteous motivation, he will lack the necessary components to succeed in such conflict.

As I describe to you what’s wrong with the Russian army, the same undermining attributes characterize nations of the West, including the United States.  People in the UK lack confidence in the overall quality of their men to stand and fight.  These nations lack the masculinity and moral authority to maintain their military strength as well.  Internal corruption portends the decline and fall of any nation more than external reasons.  They rot from the inside out.  Without God, no nation can sustain itself.