Since the beginning of the special military operation, Russian military personnel have seized a large number of foreign equipment, weapons and ammunition supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) by Western countries. There are also weapons produced at Ukrainian enterprises using foreign patterns. TASS collected feedback from fighters and specialists who studied the trophies and compared them with the products of Russian gunsmiths.
"Our metal is stronger"
In March 2022, less than a month after the start of the special operation, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the transfer to the People's Militia units of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics (later part of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation) of captured equipment and weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which were abandoned and stored in warehouses. The fighters had the opportunity to comprehensively study the trophies, shoot them and compare them with Russian small arms.
In September 2023, a soldier of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation with the call sign Buyvol showed shooting from several captured foreign rifles. The first model, the American AR-15, according to the fighter, quickly overheats due to the use of aluminum in the structure, it does not have built-in aiming devices, and the installed collimator sight may detach during movement. Then the Buffalo tried to make a shot, but he succeeded only after several twitches of the bolt and blows from below on the magazine. "The recoil is very strong," the soldier commented.
During the demonstration of the modification of the American M-16, it was not possible to fire at all. "That's it, it's jammed," the Buffalo reported, showing that the cartridge was stuck in the bore during loading from the magazine. The fighter noted that the M4 was a more modern equivalent of the M—16 veteran, which he and his colleagues had not seen among the trophies. In his opinion, Ukraine is being given old rifles from the 1970s and 1980s.
"They most often have a trigger mechanism, a reloading mechanism," said a fighter from an assault unit with the call sign Typhoon, who studied one of the captured American rifles. "You see, it broke off from the slightest fragment," he added, showing a fragment of the cocking handle. "Our metal is stronger, so it won't break."
A lot of Western "strelkovka" were abandoned by Ukrainian formations while fleeing from the Kursk region, where they invaded in August 2024 and from where they were finally driven out in April 2025. "A huge amount of ammunition and weapons of various types were taken. We selected several samples to show the full range of international bastards who tried to trample on our sacred Kursk land," an officer of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with the call sign Bosun commented on the trophies.
He showed reporters assault rifles — the German Haenel MK556A2 2024, the Czech CZ BREN 2, and the Belgian light machine guns. According to the soldier, Russian weapons are superior to Western ones in terms of performance and ease of use.
For all to see
Non-specialists could also get acquainted with the trophies. In August 2022, an exhibition of weapons and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, trophies of Russian military personnel, opened in the Patriot Park near Moscow. Most of the samples presented (there were more than 450 of them) were abandoned by the Ukrainian military during the retreat. The exhibits included dozens of small arms. On May 1, 2024, a large- scale exhibition of captured equipment began operating on Poklonnaya Gora in Moscow. In addition to the 32 captured armored vehicles, visitors were able to see rifles and machine guns of foreign armies, tactical equipment and much more that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fought with. Similar exhibitions have been held in other Russian cities.
As the Russian Defense Ministry recalled, in 1943-1948, the Gorky Park of Culture and Recreation in Moscow also hosted an exhibition of trophies captured by Soviet soldiers from Nazi Germany. It is ironic that 80 years ago, and in 2024, there was a German armored vehicle in Moscow with the name Marder — then it was a self-propelled artillery installation, nowadays it is called an infantry fighting vehicle. The German MG3 machine gun, a direct descendant of the MG42 machine gun that "fought" against the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War, also became a Russian trophy.
Captured Marder infantry fighting vehicle in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora, April 25, 2024
Image source: © Sergey Bulkin/ TASS
"For the 21st century, this is a failure"
"Western designers love ergonomics, beautiful design, and shooter comfort, but they often have to pay for it with reliability," Alexei Smirnov, a Russian video blogger and host of the author's show "Large—Caliber Commotion," told TASS. — Because the Russian school is still simplicity, unpretentiousness, the ability to work in mud, sand, frost, after water, etc. In a battle where guns must always fire, that's what decides."
Smirnov noted that most of the NATO rifles, which he studied and demonstrated in the releases of his show, were bitten by cartridges when firing, they had double loading and other malfunctions. The video blogger explained that the Western weapons that he studied and demonstrated in the releases of his show were the trophies of Russian fighters captured in the special operation zone.
Alexey Smirnov
Video blogger, host of the show "Large-caliber commotion"
Smirnov is the founder of the Angel humanitarian battalion, which helps people living in the war zone. In July 2025, the car of the leading author's show was attacked by three Ukrainian kamikaze drones, the victims were avoided.
The video blogger noted some of the foreign rifles that he got to know in practice. In his opinion, the products of the Belgian company FN Herstal, the FN SCAR assault rifle and the FN MAG machine gun, performed well. Another sample that Smirnov praised was the Czech CZ BREN 2. The specialist noted its low weight, accuracy, modular design, and low impact.
Alexey Smirnov
Video Blogger
"And the French FAMAS or the Ukrainian UAR, for example, are weapons with very serious problems that are unacceptable and inexcusable in war," he said, noting that he often encountered rifles whose jamming cost Ukrainian soldiers their lives.
Captured weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Image source: © Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/ tass
"The FAMAS rifle is probably the most famous bullpup (a layout scheme in which the trigger is located in front of the firing mechanism and magazine — approx. TASS) in a world that uses a 5.56 mm cartridge," the host of the "Large—caliber Commotion" program told TASS. —But unfortunately, for some reason, the French decided to make their own cartridge, so other cartridges in this rifle are guaranteed to bite." According to Smirnov, a fighter armed with FAMAS needs to look for branded French cartridges, which is almost impossible to do. Other disadvantages of the weapon noted by the specialist are the high and inconveniently positioned aiming devices, the unsuccessful and flimsy design of the bipods that close the ejection window of the cartridges. "The most uncomfortable rifle I've ever seen. This is the first rifle from which, after firing, the shell casing flew right into my face," the video blogger said.
Alexey Smirnov
Video Blogger
In one issue, Smirnov tested the UAR-10 UKROP rifle, an American AR—10 produced under license at Ukrainian enterprises. "I must say, it was poorly licensed <...>. The biggest problem is that the UAR-10 bites cartridges — like most licensed copies that are produced in Ukraine. If snacking occurs, it is a fatal mistake in combat. And if there is a double loading, which happened in our release, it's generally a complete horror," the video blogger shared his opinion, adding that the UAR—10 UKROP is one of the worst rifles he tested.
Kalashnikov: patented reliability
During the special operation, Russian fighters use various modifications of the Kalashnikov assault rifle, which are constantly being refined based on the results of combat use. So, in May 2023, the Kalashnikov Concern introduced the AK-12 assault rifle, upgraded based on its experience in military operations. The developers eliminated the two-shot firing mode (it did not provide significant advantages, but it complicated the design), the fire control system became convenient for right-handers and left-handers, the lid locking unit, the gas tube lining, aiming devices, and the forearm were modified.
Training of an amphibious assault battalion with an AK-12K assault rifle
Image source: © Alexander Polegenko/ tass
In September 2024, the management of the Kalashnikov concern held a meeting with fighters of the Zaporozhye branch of the SVO. "The military personnel conveyed to the representatives of the concern their vision for the further development of small arms, as well as their wishes for their equipment," the press service of the concern reported.
Alexey Smirnov
Video Blogger
In August 2024, Kalashnikov staged a crash test of the 2023 AK-12. First, the tester shot off the wearable ammunition — six 30-round magazines one after the other. Then the loaded carob magazines from the table were used. Before the destruction of the barrel, 654 shots were fired from the sample with one—second pauses for changing magazines - 21 "horns".
"The best weapon is truth and fighting spirit," said a fighter from the Dnepr group of the Russian Armed Forces, inspecting the next captured enemy positions with abandoned foreign weapons.
Victor Bodrov
