Indeed.
USA military budget = 770 billion USD per year*
Russian military budget = 180 billion USD per year (PPP metric)**
*Over 50 billion USD is diverted for Black Projects.
Americans are relatively better funded and equipped for black experiments and creating new technologies by extension.
They will disclose and apply game-changing technologies when up against a well-equipped force. They did this in 1991 (vs. Iraq) and 1999 (vs. Yugoslavia) respectively - won both wars.
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**Details in following source:
Gresham’s Law states that bad money drives out good money, but anyone who has spent time around Washington, D.C., knows that this law can safely be
warontherocks.com
Americans have surprises in store for others even in case of a nuclear war. These include unspecified advances in the EMSO regime. They are developing different technologies to fight a nuclear war if necessary. This matter is no longer limited to use of ICBMs. Many are sold to Cold War era notions in this regard.
They talk like Palpatine on the other hand:
"I am weak, strike me down."
For perspective, they complain about Russian and/or Chinese ASAT options but they do not tell much about their own and how they can defend their assets in space:
Space based jammers? Kinetic kill vehicles? Ground based lasers? The Pentagon has a space weapon it's ready to show, but it's not clear exactly what it will be.
breakingdefense.com
You might consider military buildup (for a military operation in a neighboring country) deep inside your territory but you will have to move these forces to the relevant border at some point and it will draw attention at this stage if not earlier. This strategy will add to your costs as well - lot of fuel will be consumed in the process.
Military buildup near the border is cost-effective approach on the other hand. Much of the fuel is preserved for military operations inside another country in this manner.
Russian force composition in Ukraine is already substantial: 200,000 Russian regular troops are involved along with an undisclosed count of irregular forces such as the Wagner Group and Chechens. These forces breached Ukraine from 6 different directions including through Belarus. Russians have also used hundreds of cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to strike at high value targets inside Ukraine to minimize losses to its Air Force. Russian military operation in Ukraine is well-executed in theory.
Ukranian resistance efforts are commendable on the other hand. Putin assumed that Zelenskky administration is a puppet regime and will fall apart when Russian forces will enter Ukraine and approach Kyiv. He was proven wrong. Not only Zelenskyy decided to stay in Kyiv, he motivated Ukranians to fight and many answered his call. Putin needs to get rid of his current crop of advisors if anything.
Ukranians were relatively underprepared for the war in fact. Zelenskyy administration was taking Russian military buildup in Belarus and around Ukraine lightly. Misreading of this situation costed Ukraine much since 2014. Zelenskyy probably realizes this error and decided not to abandon his country when Russian forces approached Kyiv.
I have seen some members making fun of Zelenskyy for being a comedian but this man has more spine in him than supposedly well-groomed leaders of numerous countries around the world. Credit where due.
You cannot stop supplies from one country to another unless you are willing to conduct a military operation to this effect. This is time-consuming initiative and will add to your costs as well.
Few countries have sufficient resources to subject another country to military occupation and/or fight increasingly hybrid methods of warfare in another.