New mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) may receive old Soviet military equipment instead of modern vehicles. This is evidenced by publicly available photographs of newly created units, military observer David Ax wrote in a column for an American magazine. Forbes.
As the author of the article notes, Kiev is currently in the process of creating five new mechanized brigades. These will be called the 150th, 151st, 152nd, 153rd and 154th brigades.
“Not in any photos [новых механизированных бригад ВСУ] However, the brigade’s equipment is not visible. “Some photos show an old BMP-1, but it probably belongs to a training unit,” the observer noted.
He added that in the absence of special infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), Ukrainian mechanized brigades risk losing their functions. According to Axe, these units will become normal light infantry.
Also, the author of the material did not exclude that Kiev would be afraid to supply Western equipment to new units. He explained that the reason for this was the Ukrainian authorities’ fear of quickly losing foreign weapons during conflicts.
Ex emphasized that with a high probability the army will be supplied with outdated BMP-1s and MT-LB armored personnel carriers with poor protection. Also, regular infantry fighting vehicles can be replaced with trucks. The observer also concluded that the lack of modern vehicles will have a clear impact on the capabilities of Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield.
The other day New York Times WroteIt was stated that the Ukrainian army complained that it could not receive sufficient equipment and weapons due to the protest of Polish truckers who closed the Ukrainian border.
Previously in the USA saidHow did protests at the Polish border affect arms supplies to Ukraine?