Used and broken: problems of Ukrainian trophies
A Ukrainian workshop where captured Russian armored vehicles are allegedly restored. Photo by The Washington Post
Unfortunately, the Russian formations and units involved in the Special Operation suffer losses in people and equipment. At the same time, a certain number of combat vehicles goes to the enemy, and with their help he tries to make up for his own losses. However, captured Russian armored vehicles rarely appear on the battlefields and practically do not affect the general situation. This is due to a number of objective factors and problems plaguing the Ukrainian side.
Propaganda and facts
Kyiv propaganda claims that during the entire period of hostilities, Ukrainian formations managed to capture several thousand Russian armored vehicles of various types, including the latest Tanks. However, these claims do not receive adequate evidence. Ukrainian sources support their theses with photographs and videos of only individual combat vehicles. At the same time, they often pass off their own materiel as Russian equipment - and it’s good if it’s of the right type.
In search of evidence, enemy propagandists like to refer to the notorious foreign resource Oryx. He carries out "intelligence through open sources" and compiles lists of losses and trophies of the parties. At the same time, numerous errors and direct falsifications of Oryx are well known. So, several photos of one armored vehicle can be counted as separate vehicles, Ukrainian losses are presented as Russian ones, etc.
Destroyed Ukrainian BRDM-2 in characteristic camouflage, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine tried to pass off as a trophy. Telegram photo / "Colonel Khodarenok"
Thus, given the bad faith of foreign sources, incl. enemy, it can be argued that their data on Ukrainian trophies, to put it mildly, does not correspond to reality. Obviously, a certain number of Russian tanks and other armored vehicles in one form or another could remain on the territory occupied by the enemy, but we are not talking about thousands.
In recent months, Ukrainian propaganda has several times mentioned plans to re-equip entire divisions and units with Russian equipment. However, things did not seem to go beyond talk. Trophies appear in Ukrainian units infrequently, and this can be considered another indirect argument against the theses about thousands of armored vehicles.
Thus, the real "achievements" of the Ukrainian formations in the capture of Russian equipment are far from the declared ones. This is due to a number of objective factors of various kinds. Thus, the Russian army shows a clear superiority over the enemy in weapons and tactics, and it rarely has to leave equipment. In addition, the potential of the defense industry, which ensures the operation and repair of equipment, as well as the supply of ammunition and other products, is of great importance.
Used and broken
In the conditions of a modern armed conflict, it is at least not easy to take an armored combat vehicle in good condition as a trophy. With the right technology and weapon, ammunition and support of comrades, the crew will carry out combat missions and will not give up or leave their car. Accordingly, it will not get to the enemy.
A well-known episode of the destruction of the armored personnel carrier Sisu of Ukrainian formations. The label "BMP VSU" indicates, presumably, a captured BMP-3. Photo UNM DPR
A tank or other object will be left only in case of critical problems and the impossibility of correcting them - loss of mobility, depletion of ammunition, etc. At the same time, all valuable instruments and devices will be removed from it, as well as the rest will be disabled. In addition, if possible, they will try to destroy the car on their own or with someone else's help.
Available materials from the Ukrainian side show that the vast majority of enemy trophies were abandoned Russian armored vehicles. Their condition is almost always far from ideal - it was because of various damages and breakdowns that they had to be left.
Despite all the efforts of enemy propaganda, we can talk about a small percentage of breakdowns and high reliability of our equipment. In addition, the virtual absence of real combat trophies indicates the low performance of enemy troops and formations. In fact, he cannot effectively resist the Russian troops and take trophies in battle and gets only what was left to him.
Repair problem
Under the current conditions, captured armored vehicles are of great interest to Ukrainian formations. Despite the small number, it is considered as a real source of replenishment of its own fleet of vehicles and compensation for losses incurred. However, as practice shows, it is not possible to fully use such opportunities. And not only because of the insufficient number of captured cars.
The same BMP-3 and Sisu from a different angle. A frame from the reportage of the TV channel "Zvezda"
Trophies are received mainly in damaged and partially dismantled form. The operation of such equipment is impossible, and it needs to be restored and repaired. However, the Ukrainian industry and military repair structures are not able to provide a full-fledged repair and resumption of operation.
Since the first days of the Special Operation, Russian armed forces have been regularly striking Ukrainian military industry facilities. Full-fledged production facilities have long been destroyed, and repair facilities have been put out of action. Various small and medium-sized workshops regularly appear in new locations, but they only operate until our intelligence detects them and destroys the next missiles.
Under such conditions, it is at least extremely difficult to repair captured or damaged armored vehicles. At the same time, the result of the work can be destroyed at any time along with the workshop and its staff - already without any chance of a new restoration.
The repair process is associated with a number of characteristic difficulties. Thus, Ukraine does not have the entire range of spare parts necessary for the repair of modern Russian equipment, and also cannot always get the necessary parts abroad. Because of this, the restoration of some samples is simply impossible. For example, on December 27, the American edition of The Washington Post wrote that Ukrainian repairmen, due to a lack of spare parts, cannot put captured BMP-3s into operation and are experiencing great difficulties in repairing tanks.
Ukrainian repair company. Photo by The Washington Post
In addition, the workshops do not have the necessary instructions and manuals, as well as experience with modern Russian technology. Because of this, the repair stops or is accompanied by gross errors that threaten the further operation of the machine.
Predictable outcome
Ukrainian "overcomes" with the capture of captured armored vehicles delight the target audience of such News, but in the future they develop according to a well-known scenario and have a completely predictable ending. Despite all the efforts made, the Kyiv regime does not receive a significant number of trophies, and also cannot use them in the desired way.
In general, everything is quite simple. Even if the Ukrainian formations manage to find an abandoned Russian armored vehicle, there are no guarantees that it will be able to be evacuated to the rear, brought to a working condition and returned to the combat zone. On this path, only individual trophies can be carried out, which cannot have a noticeable effect on the combat capability of the troops.
Once at the front, restored vehicles are exposed to known risks. Any use of them in combat results in the risk of being hit by fire and being destroyed or damaged. In this case, the possibility of recovery is again in question.
The high production culture is visible. Photo by The Washington Post
It is noteworthy that the failure of equipment or its abandonment for objective reasons generally does not affect the combat capability and the general condition of the Russian army. It continues to be active and fulfills the task of demilitarizing a neighboring state. Ukrainian "successes" in capturing trophies do not have any impact on the course of these processes.
Pointless optimism
Thus, despite all the optimism of Ukrainian propaganda, the situation with trophies is quite complicated and does not allow solving urgent problems. Ukrainian formations actually "capture" only the equipment that they are allowed to take. And this number includes only cars with certain damage.
Such "trophies" delight the townsfolk and even the command, but there is little benefit from them. Restoring equipment for commissioning turns out to be too difficult or even impossible, and its effective use is not guaranteed. The result is an interesting situation. The Russian army, leaving individual armored vehicles, does not weaken, and the Ukrainian army, picking them up, cannot become stronger.
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