Top 30 Most Powerful Militaries

The algorithm only factors conventional weaponry, so nukes are not included. It also takes into consideration things like economic power, natural resources, geography, etc. North Korea has an anemic economy, it can't feed its own people day to day, it has no oil or anything like that. It's a house of cards that would collapse without outside support. Most of their military technology is obsolete, too. But they do have a lot of jets, a lot of submarines, a lot of artillery, and a very large army... so they make the list.

Rule them out of what? "Winning" the disastrous war that they started in Ukraine? Or being on this list?

I already said that they would not be kicked off the list. Even if their position may, and probably should, be revised downward... which... maybe wouldn't even require any special exceptions or adjustments to the algorithm that GFP uses to generate the list if you consider the staggering number of losses Russia has suffered in terms of equipment and personnel... simply adjusting the stats and reapplying the algorithm would do that.

As for their campaign of war crimes in Ukraine... I don't know what you count as a "win" for them, especially given that their starting objective was to take over Kyiv within a couple of weeks and dominate the entire country probably within a month, installing some kind of obedient Russian puppet government there that would agree to recognize Russian annexation of Crimea and "independence" of Russian puppet states in the Donbass...

... and that obviously is not going to happen and even Russia apparently has totally given up on those objectives. At this point... if they even manage to hold Crimea in the long run I think a lot of people would call that a "win," but they could have potentially done that even before invading and were arguably in a stronger position to do so back then. (some speculate that their hold on Crimea was slipping and untenable long-term and that this was the entire reason they invaded in the first place, to try and make a "land bridge" across the Donbass to better supply and fortify Crimea)

No idea where you're getting your information about stagnant territory movements (with Russians retreating all over the place lately, even from territory Moscow claims to have annexed), or the casualties being "generally even" (with Russian losses recently eclipsing 90,000, according to non-Russian media). Ukraine obviously has the momentum currently and Russia has been thoroughly humiliated.

As to whether or not Putin's hundred of thousands of conscripted elders with rheumatism, prisoners, and various ethnic minorities that hate him are enough to turn the tide and maybe allow Russia to hold on to *some* territory or even negotiate a peaceful settlement that allows them to gain something, save face, and call it a "win"... remains to be seen.

But there's no way anyone being serious could call this anything other than a complete and total disaster for Russia the likes of which the world has rarely even seen before. Hard to think of anything at all recent that was even comparable. Going back into history there are more examples... Agincourt... Thermopylae... The Battle of Britain... the Russo-Japanese War, or perhaps the American Revolution. But even if Russia carves out some kind of victory after everything else that has happened, this will still go down as one of biggest muck-ups in military history, with one side getting absolutely spanked by an inferior enemy.

Further... it's quite possible... and personally I hope that we'll come to see this happen... that Putin's totally wrong-headed attack on Ukraine and the global response to it will ultimately usher in the collapse of the Russian state. Let alone a mere loss in the "special military operation" in Ukraine. I'm not saying that this is definitely going to happen... but... with Russian men fleeing and dying in record numbers, at least 100k will die in Ukraine before the war is over, nearly a million have fled the country to avoid conscription or just to get off what they see as a sinking ship, the brain drain, the global sanctions, and the damage Putin has done to the stability of the ruling political order will all combine to, perhaps, lead to the failure of the Russian Federation. Which would be awful for Russia, obviously, but I think it would be a net positive if the country was broken up into many smaller countries and not allowed to continue threatening world peace and stability.

didn't realize RT subscribed to my quizzes. But, cool.