Russia’s Military Advantage Over NATO
1 November 2025 by
Larry C. Johnson 3 Comments
Underestimating one’s opponent, whether it is a sporting event or a military confrontation is a recipe for disaster. If you watch the mainstream media in the West, you are subjected to a flood of claims by former military and intelligence officers about the weakness and incompetence of the Russians. If you take time to watch my interviews with Russian military correspondent Sladkov and retired Russian Colonel Basurin, they eschew making such characterizations of the West… The US military in particular. For them, war is serious business and requires that one respect the opponent.
The news that the Pentagon has approved shipping Tomahawk missiles to Russia is a potential disaster for the West. One thing I heard from most of the people I interviewed during my time in Russia is that the deployment of this weapon to Ukraine is a
red line for Russia because that missile can carry a nuclear warhead. If President Trump decides to do this, and one or more of those missiles are launched into Russia, then the Russian response will be severe and is likely to extend beyond Ukraine. Because the Russians believe that a Tomahawk can only be launched with direct participation by US military personnel, I cannot rule out the possibility that Russia will retaliate by hitting the continental US if the Tomahawk hits a sensitive target in Moscow or St. Petersburg… Donald Trump is playing with nuclear fire.
I interviewed Alexander Valeryevich Sladkov, who is a seasoned Russian military reporter and currently serves as the special correspondent for DIP “Vesti” VGTRK. Mr. Sladkov is a reserve officer (Senior Lieutenant) in the Russian army and is one of Russia’s most experienced war correspondents, having worked in all major conflicts across the post-Soviet space and beyond. He is the recipient of numerous state awards and professional prizes. In this interview he compliments the US military, but also acknowledges that the US is now viewed as a serious adversary. I was surprised to learn that during his career as a journalist he worked at the Pentagon, West Point and Bagram Air Force base in Afghanistan.
Following my interview with Sladkov, I interviewed Eduard Aleksandrovich Basurin. I screwed up at the start by identifying him as a former General, and he gently corrected my error by reminding me that he was a Colonel. Retired Colonel Basurin served in the the Donetsk People’s Republic, including a stint as the press secretary of the DPR military command. He is a graduate of the Donetsk Higher Military-Political School (1987) and served in both the Soviet and Russian armies (1987-1997). He has been sanctioned by the EU since February 16, 2015.
Colonel Basurin, like Sladkov, spoke respectfully of the US military. He said the biggest difference between the NATO officers and Russian officers is the Russian belief that senior officers, to be effective, must lead from the front. If you take time to watch this video I think you will come away with an appreciation of the humanity of this military man… I believe he represents the thinking of most Russian officers.
Glenn Diesen and I had a detailed discussion about Russian capabilities compared to those of NATO. I explained what I heard from the Russian military and political leaders that I interviewed while in Moscow.
