BRICS is not a military alliance at the disposal of Russia

A post on social networks claims the Ukrainian fight against Russia, the sanctions against it, and the international isolation has failed, and that Russia is now even stronger than before. However, Russia no longer has control over its own territory (in the Kursk Oblast). It went from being a superpower and a member of the group of the most developed countries in the world—G8 to seeking support from North Korea, as well as cooperation with the Afghanistan Taliban  

 

A Facebook post begins with the words: 

Who would have thought Russia would be in such a strong position after May 2022 as it is now?  

Finally, the post concludes: 

 
In my opinion, Putin has everything under control.  

 

In reality, Vladimir Putin does not even have control over his own country, particularly over part of its Kursk Oblast, which was occupied by Ukrainian forces in August, as a response to the Russian aggression, so it is not clear what kind of strong position and control the post is talking about. 

Russia also does not have full control over the Ukrainian territories it annexed on the 30th of September 2022. They include the Kherson Oblast, but Russia lost the city of Kherson on the 11th of November 2022. It is the only regional center, more specifically, capital of a region, which was occupied in the full-scale invasion that began on the 24th of February 2022; however, the state still considers it a “city in Russia.” 

Russia also annexed the region of Zaporozhye, even though it does not have full control over it and even though it never occupied the capital city of this region, which has the same name. That annexation is not only a violation of international law, but it is largely only on paper. Russia does not have full control over Donbas either, (bigger cities such as Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and other places), even though it formally annexed it entirely.  

Furthermore, the post says: 

A repeatedly defeated Ukrainian army, artificially kept alive only by the support of the West, but now a mere shadow of its former self.  

Since the Ukrainian army is on Russian soil, it is clear that it is not defeated. The Russian army, on the other hand, failed to occupy either Kyiv or Kharkiv in February-May 2022, in the autumn counteroffensive of the same year, etc., while Ukraine has long been targeting in Russia, especially Belgorod, and even Moscow, so again this brings us to the conclusion that it is not the kind of force that is described in the post. 

And although Ukraine did receive aid, this was not the case at the beginning of the war, what’s more, it was not without problems, objections, reservations, restrictions, and caution on the part of the West.  

Thus, the pride of the Russian Black Sea fleet, the flagship Moskva, was sunk by the Ukrainians on the 14th of April 2022 with their Neptune cruise missile, while the powerful weapons from the US arrived much later:  the rocket launcher HIMARS—June 2022, NASAMS—November 2022, the similar Patriot—April 2023, the Abrams tank—September 2023, and fighter aircraft F-16 in August of 2024.  

As a matter of fact, the Russian army is just a shadow of its former self, so that alleged superpower now seeks support from North Korea, while the situation is opposite in terms of the Ukrainian forces. They were weak at first, so they didn’t fight back in Crimea in 2014, but now it’s different—instead of being demilitarized as Putin planned, they are now more militarized. 

Now, Ukraine is not a superpower, and it is natural for it to suffer defeat on the battlefield. Russia is considered a superpower, yet it barely achieves victory in towns and villages in Donbas the world cannot even locate on a map: Avdiivka, Marinka, Bogdanovka, Novomykhailivka, Pervomaiske and others. 

Furthermore, the post says: 

Geopolitically strengthened through a united front with China and the BRICS countries. Militarily upgraded to a level of battle-tested readiness unmatched in the world.  

What sort of reinforcement could this be, when among the BRICS members, candidates for membership, or its partners, there are many developing countries that have many problems: Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Nigeria, Uganda, Syria, Cuba, etc. The Taliban from Afghanistan, with whom Russia communicates a lot, also expressed a desire for cooperation with the BRICS, so is that a success? For comparison, Russia used to be in the group of the most developed countries in the world—G8.  

When it comes to the Russian cooperation with China, it is not ideal. China also has old accounts to settle with Russia, a topic which we already wrote on, so let’s not repeat ourselves. 

Besides the fact that BRICS is not a “united front,” nor can it be said that it is “militarily upgraded,” the members of this organization have different interests. BRICS is not a military alliance, so it cannot be referred to in this sense. Consequently, BRICS surely does not have “a level of battle-tested readiness, unmatched in the world.” The armies of China, India, and Brazil, for example, have not been at war for decades at least, nor do they have joint regular exercises for combat readiness or interoperability in strategies, tactics, and military equipment, as is the case with NATO member states, for example. The only economic aid that Russia receives from the BRICS members is that they buy Russian oil, and very little is done militarily, again through China, which sells equipment to Russia with a dual purpose—peacetime and military.  

The same applies to the effectiveness of the sanctions, about which the post says: 

Sanctions that had no real effect are now slowly disappearing.  

To claim they have no effect is untrue, which we have already argued.  

Considering everything mentioned above, we assess the post as untrue.  

 

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