General Vladimirov: the Ukrainian military is not capable of using Western equipment
Western media report that the Ukrainian military cannot effectively use samples of weapons and military equipment supplied to them by the United States and European countries. Why - "Newspaper.Ru" was dealt with together with military experts.
The American TV channel CNN has released a report where it is noted that "Ukraine has received a military potential that allows it to come out on top in terms of combat capability in Europe, but it cannot use it."
"Supplies are constantly coming, transshipment points in Poland and Romania are filled with a huge amount of weapons, but they do not affect the course of hostilities and are often not fully used by the Ukrainian army," CNN notes.
The Washington Post, in turn, published an article claiming that the Ukrainian military had difficulties with the use of the Javelin anti-tank missile system.
"Even when hitting the target, there is no proper defeat, and for the most part Ukrainians simply miss. There is a feature - the Javelin has a range of about three kilometers, respectively, there is a retaliatory fire defeat from the Russian troops. "Javelins" simply declassify the presence of the Ukrainian military. Therefore, they try not to use them," The Washington Post article says.
Russian military experts agree with this statement.
- I told the newspaper.En" President of the College of Military Experts, Reserve Major General Alexander Vladimirov.
The General stressed that this also applies to other weapons, including complex ones.
"Trained in RPG-7 shooting will not immediately figure out which way to turn the Javelin anti-tank complex. A professional artilleryman who perfectly knows the use of the 122-mm D-30 howitzer will not immediately deal with the M-777 howitzer, except by the poke method, which is fraught with consequences. Any new, previously unknown weapons, you need to study thoroughly and get the practice of its use. It takes time, instructional instructions and training. At the moment, the Ukrainian military is not able to use Western equipment," Vladimirov believes.
The AFU has even more problems with the use of American Switchblade kamikaze drones, The Washington Post notes. They were installed in large numbers, but they did not have time to teach how to use them. The process of training a drone operator takes at least six months, additional equipment and binding to satellite reconnaissance are also required.
"As a result, the old Soviet weapons turned out to be the most in demand for Ukraine - T-72 tanks, shells for Soviet guns from the reserves of Poland and the Czech Republic, rockets for multiple rocket launchers. They know how to use them, but they are not particularly familiar with Western weapons, hence the problems with their use. For training, it is necessary to distract the military from participating in hostilities and send them to training centers either on the territory of Ukraine itself, in its western regions, or to European countries or the United States. Specialists of this kind may appear as part of the APU only in a few months. In the current situation, the Ukrainian military cannot fully use the weapons supplied by the West," he told the newspaper.Ru" editor-in-chief of the magazine "National Defense" Igor Korotchenko.
The expert drew attention to the fact that the AFU may have difficulties with the operation of multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) HIMARS and MLRS, the delivery of which was recently announced by Washington and London.
"The radius of their combat use can be about 60-80 km or more. But for the accuracy of hitting the target, aerial reconnaissance support is required. Ukraine does not have this, so they will shoot them only in a given direction, not caring about the accuracy of hits. Massive supplies of Western weapons only fuel the political ambitions of the Kiev authorities, which are demanding more and more supplies. Technically, this has no effect yet," Korotchenko concluded.
Victor Sokirko
