Inside Russia’s Military Catastrophe

<p><i>This episode contains strong language and descriptions of violence.</i><br />When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, many believed the country’s army would quickly crush the Ukrainian forces. Instead, Russian military failures have defined the war.</p><p>Today, we hear from Russian soldiers, and explore why a military superpower keeps making the same mistakes and why, despite it all, its soldiers keep going back to fight.</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/michael-schwirtz?smid=pc-thedaily">Michael Schwirtz</a>, an investigative reporter for The New York Times.</p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>Secret battle plans, intercepted communications and interviews with Russian soldiers explain<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/16/world/europe/russia-putin-war-failures-ukraine.html"> how a “walk in the park” became a catastrophe for Russia</a>.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit </p><p><a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a></p><p>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.</p>