Russian Military Logistics in the Ukraine War: Recent Reforms and Wartime Operations

Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and its combat operations there have highlighted the challenges and adaptability of the Russian military’s logistical and combat service support system. This paper examines Russian military logistics during operations in Ukraine in 2022. It begins with an overview of the logistical system, highlighting its history, approaches, structure, and ongoing reform efforts that have been underway since 2010. The second part of the paper focuses on the system’s performance during the war in Ukraine, viewing military operations in several discrete phases. The final part of the paper focuses on how leadership and authoritative thinkers in the Russian military logistics community are discussing lessons learned from recent operations while highlighting evolutionary priorities for the logistical system, given Russia’s enduring adversarial relationship with the West.