Experts told what outdated weapons the West wants to send to Ukraine
The United States, NATO countries and their allies declare that they will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. Along with new models of weapons, such supplies include outdated equipment. Which one exactly - the newspaper was sorting out.Ru»
"We will continue to supply weapons to Ukraine. This country needs our weapons for defense, not for attack. At the same time, attacks on the arms supply line from Russia, if there are any, will become a very dangerous point of military tension," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in an interview for CBC News.
Official Moscow has repeatedly stated that the supply of weapons to Kiev by the countries of Europe and the United States contributes to the escalation of the conflict.
"The supply of weapons, armaments, ammunition to the territory of Ukraine, from our point of view, can and will become an extremely dangerous and destabilizing factor. Which in any case will in no way contribute to stability in Ukraine, or the restoration of order, or anything," said Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of Russia.
Military experts interviewed by the Newspaper.Ru", the quality of the planned deliveries raises questions.
"Yes, some of the weapons are relatively new models. For example, the famous portable anti-aircraft missile system Stinger. But then the nuances begin. The first such MANPADS were adopted in the early 1980s. It was used during the war on the Falkland Islands between Great Britain and Argentina. Then the complex underwent a series of upgrades.
- I told the newspaper.En" military expert, retired Major General Leonid Artemyev.
According to him, with a high degree of probability, the supply of old weapons is implied, since in the case of the supply of the latest samples, this would be directly stated. In some cases, the expert believes, we are talking about outdated samples.
"It is known that Germany has now decided to supply weapons to Ukraine. These are 2,700 Strela-2 MANPADS still of Soviet production, which were in service with the GDR army, which have lain in warehouses for more than 30-40 years. Their effectiveness is very doubtful, the missiles may simply not fly or explode in the hands of the shooter. This is a very good weapon. But it had to be stored so that it could be used later. Berlin was not going to use it, but to dispose of it. And now, instead of recycling, it sends it to Ukraine. NATO countries, as you can see, are getting rid of outdated and unnecessary weapons and ammunition, including Soviet-made ones. Warehouses are being released for more modern weapons," Artemyev added.
The expert also noted that there are questions about the supply of RPG-7 grenade launchers and ammunition to Ukraine from Greece and Slovakia. "It's also a very good weapon. But it was adopted in 1961. It is not known how much time lay in warehouses. Most likely, it came to Greece and Slovakia from the former arsenals of the GDR. Whether it will shoot now or not is unknown. Thus, NATO will supply Ukraine with weapons from the GDR. He is more than half a century old," Artemyev concluded.
Among other countries that announced the supply of weapons to Ukraine was Canada. Canadian weapons will include C6 machine guns, C8 assault rifles and Swedish-made Carl Gustaf anti-tank grenade launchers. This was stated in the press service of the Ministry of National Defense of Canada.
Member of the Board of Military Experts, Doctor of Technical Sciences Alexander Nikolsky drew attention to the fact that Carl Gustaf "is not the newest and not the most promising model."
"The basic model of this grenade launcher was developed in 1948. Then there were three more options, but they were all created on the basis of this base and did not change constructively in any way. It's not a bad weapon, but it's obviously outdated. They wanted to replace it with newer models. But now they decided to send it to Ukraine. The American M72LAW grenade launcher, adopted by the US Army in 1962, cannot be called new in any way. Norway, Estonia, Finland and Belgium are ready to send such to Ukraine. In the USA itself, this grenade launcher has been removed from service," he told the newspaper.Ru" Nikolsky.
"But it's useless, because Russia controls a significant part of the territory of Ukraine. All these weapons, as soon as they are unloaded from cars or trains to warehouses, will be destroyed. In the best case, it will be stored in the Lviv region without the possibility to carry it further," the expert concluded.
Viktor Sokirko, Dmitry Mayorov
