1/ Russia's shortage of armoured vehicles and lack of an analogue for the M113 APC or M2A2 Bradley IFV has led soldiers to weld troop-carrying 'booths' onto rusting Soviet-era MT-LB armoured fighting vehicles. It highlights the Russian defence industry's failure to adapt. ⬇️
2/ The MT-LB, built in Ukraine, Bulgaria and Poland from the early 1970s, is designed to carry 11 men in addition to a driver and gunner. However, like other Soviet-era APCs, it suffers from low headroom and narrow exit doors which slow down disembarcation from the vehicle.
3/ This has often been a problem for Russian forces in Ukraine, as it leaves disembarking troops highly vulnerable to enemy fire. In one incident recorded by the Ukrainians, an entire Russian assault squad was wiped out in seconds as it exited its MT-LB.
4/ The MT-LB's light armour (only 3-14 mm thick) also makes the vehicle itself highly vulnerable to drones and direct enemy fire. It is incapable of resisting the Bradley's 25mm autocannon, let alone tank fire.
5/ As the Russian 'Military Informant' Telegram channel notes, "The production of new armoured vehicles is not capable of sufficiently covering the heavy losses incurred in them, and the number of vehicles removed from storage that are suitable for combat operations is becoming…
6/ …fewer and fewer – many types of equipment in the 1st and 2nd storage categories [i.e. in the best conditions, generally under cover] have already been exhausted, and those stored in less acceptable conditions require more and more time for major repairs and modernisation."
7/ Russian troops have frequently complained about the weakness of Russian armoured personnel carriers, calling them "complete shit that burns and kills our soldiers". They have attempted to upgrade existing vehicles with home-made armour.
8/ This is the result, as 'Military Informant' notes, of the Russian military-industrial complex's failure to adapt to the needs of the Ukraine war. As another Russian warblogger has commented, failed projects like the Armata tank have taken priority.
9/ "Over the years of war, neither the industry nor the Ministry of Defence have been able to give birth to a notional analogue of the M113 APC for these purposes, and the USSR did not produce such equipment at all, which excludes its presence in storage bases.
10/ "Due to the fact that there is simply nowhere to quickly get such equipment from, and no one is going to produce it, the role of assault APCs has to be played by the MT-LB, which is completely unsuitable for this.
11/ "[It is] not adapted either in terms of its armour, or in terms of mine protection, or in terms of the convenience of placing and landing troops."
12/ Additionally, as 'Military Informant' points out, drones have fundamentally changed the environment in which troops disembark:
"At the same time, due to the dominance of drones over the battlefield, the tactics of using armored vehicles have also undergone serious changes."
13/ "Now, APCs and IFVs do not fight together with infantry, but try to deliver them to the dismounting line as quickly as possible, and then leave the danger zone as quickly as possible so as not to become a victim of a drone."
14/ While in many cases this has been achieved by having the troops ride on the roof of the vehicle, this leaves the soldiers extremely vulnerable to drone and small arms attacks, which can wipe out entire squads before they can even disembark.
15/ The Russians have found a solution of sorts by welding a metal 'booth' to the top of MT-LBs, "by cutting off part of the roof and placing it on top of a higher structure, allowing the equipped landing force to be more comfortably accommodated, and, if necessary,…
16/ …quickly leave the vehicle under fire. Note that even this simple modernisation is carried out by repair units in the army and by the crews of the vehicles themselves, and not at factories."
17/ The booths have the advantage of allowing quick disembarkation and some protection from shell splinters and small arms fire. They are still very vulnerable to drones, however, and obliterate the MT-LB's low profile.
18/ As 'Military Informant' complains, this highlights the fact that military equipment makers "often do not care at all about what the front actually needs, and the leadership of the Ministry of Defence does not understand this."
19/ "We have long and often written about the current situation and the need in the army for both simple front-line armored personnel carriers and their heavily armored versions. But, unfortunately, the situation has not yet moved on from an impasse." /end
1/ The huge reported scale of corruption in the Russian military wouldn't be possible without the active support and involvement of senior officers. An appeal to Putin from one Russian soldier highlights how even generals are likely to be profiting from the war in Ukraine. ⬇️
2/ One of the most important principles of modern Russian society is the concept of 'krysha', literally meaning 'roof' – a term borrowed from the Russian mafia to refer to protection from powerful individuals to enable criminal immunity for allies. It also works in the military.
3/ A Russian soldier has recorded an appeal to Putin describing the corruption he saw in the 139th Separate Assault Battalion, a Transbaikalia-based unit which has fought in the Donbas in Ukraine. He had previously been with the 19th Regiment of the 29th Combined Arms Army.
1/ Russians in pre-trial detention – not even having been convicted of a crime – say they are being tortured and forced to choose between sexual assault and signing a military contract. At the front, they were told they were animals and were wiped out in their first assault. ⬇️
2/ In September 2024, the Russian State Duma adopted a new law allowing the Ministry of Defence to recruit from the 60,000-strong population of pre-trial detainees. As many as 40% were expected to sign up. This has expanded the pool from which the Russian military can recruit.
3/ Tens of thousands of convicts were recruited from 2022 onwards under the auspices of the Wagner Group and later, after Wagner was dismantled, directly by the Russian Ministry of Defence. However, perhaps predictably, detainees say they are being forced to sign up.
1/ North Korean soldiers fighting against Ukraine in Russia are reportedly causing problems for the local people, including drunkenness, thefts and attempted rapes. It's being blamed on the unusual degree of freedom that they're experiencing fighting for Russia. ⬇️
2/ A message from a private chat channel for Tuvan units says: "The cultural and language barrier makes our imaginary "friends and comrades" from the DPRK absolutely deny military brotherhood, coherence and army discipline."
3/ "15 cases of drunkenness in the past month, 4 fights, 2 attempts to rape civilians and 7 thefts. There are rumors in the unit that it is not only scary to turn your back, you don't even want to give them weapons.
1/ Nearly two years after Yevgeny Prigozhin died, an account has been published of a tense meeting with Vladimir Putin in which the Wagner Group leader rejected subordination to the Russian Ministry of Defence. "Zhenya, you're fucking nuts", Putin is said to have told him. ⬇️
2/ The Russian journalist and warblogger Anastasia Kashevarova, who was an outspoken supporter of the Wagner Group and is writing a book on its rise and fall, has described what happened when Putin and Prigozhin met on 29 June, five days after the Wagner rebellion was called off.
3/ According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, a three-hour gathering of 35 people including Putin and Prigozhin met at the Kremlin. The Wagnerites assured Putin that they would continue to fight for him in Ukraine.
1/ Officers in a Russian rifle regiment are said to be labelling men as deserters to avoid paying them, beating them, denying medical care, forcing female medics into sex, and sending men into assaults without equipment while telling them to scavenge it on the battlefield. ⬇️
2/ The wives, mothers and sisters of men serving with the Russian 54th Motorised Rifle Regiment have published an 'appeal to the Tsar' complaining that their "husbands, sons and fathers are subjected to illegal actions by inhuman beings endowed with power," i.e. army commanders.
3/ One of the mothers says that in the unit, soldiers are illegally labelled as deserters – even when they are still serving – to deprive them and their families of wages and compensation. They are also denied treatment when they are wounded.
1/ A veterans' certificate has become one of the most sought-after documents in Russia due to the benefits it brings. Not surprisingly, this is attracting legions of imposters and 'dead souls', a classic Russian scam dating back at least 200 years. ⬇️
2/ Alexander Borodai, a United Russia deputy in the State Duma, has highlighted how the Russian government's announcement of preferential treatment and generous benefits for Ukraine war veterans is being exploited.
3/ He says: "Since significant preferences have been announced for veterans of the special military operation ... then I assure you that we will now have a huge number of “fake” veterans of the Special Military Operation, simply a gigantic number."