Great article, Chris!

Retired Navy here. I empathize so deeply with Alexander. I think every American sailor (and especially every officer and chief) should read this article, that they can learn just how good they have it (the *desalination* systems didn't work?!?), and how corruption can be the single greatest reason why a ship cannot function as it should, and why that ship might be sunk by otherwise-survivable battle damage. This is also why I feel precisely zero sympathy towards anyone involved in the Navy's "Fat Leonard" scandal.

That being said, the other factors that led to the sinking of the Moskva are their system of relatively short-term conscription (instead of the 4-6 years our own sailors serve) and the design of their ships (keeping ordnance outside the skin of the ship).

https://medium.com/@glennrocess/ukraine-sunk-the-rts-moskva-with-a-lot-of-help-from-russia-7d809a46854