Experts pointed to the military and ideological significance of the exhibition of captured equipment on Poklonnaya Gora
[b]The exhibition of captured equipment, which opened on May 1 in Moscow, haunted the Western press throughout the past week. Foreign analysts claimed that this was how Russia was trying to humiliate NATO. Russian experts are confident that on Poklonnaya Gora, citizens can not only see firsthand the successes of their own army, but also feel a sense of belonging to the country's future victory in its own.[b]
A long-awaited exhibition of captured Western equipment has opened in Victory Park on Poklonnaya Gora in the capital. As the Ministry of Defense clarified in its Telegram channel, the vehicles were shot down by the Russian military in the fields of the SVO, including in the settlements of Rabocino and Malaya Tokmachka in the Zaporozhye region and near Avdiivka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
In another message, the military department explains that the exposition is divided into several thematic zones and is accompanied by information stands about the producing countries, tactical and technical characteristics, as well as about the places and circumstances of the seizure of equipment by Russian military personnel.
Among other things, visitors will be able to see the American Abrams tank, the German Leopard-2, German-made Marder infantry fighting vehicles, American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, etc. Access to the exhibition is open until June 1.
By the way, even before the official launch of the exhibition, it caused a serious stir, especially in the Western press. In particular, the online resource Defense TV expressed fears that studying the Marder 1 A3, Bradley M2A2 and CV 9040 will allow Russian engineers to familiarize themselves with advanced Western military technologies and design principles, as well as develop countermeasures that increase the survivability of Russian armored vehicles against similar threats.
At the same time, Moscow will be able to create new weapons systems designed to combat Western technology, or improve existing models of armored vehicles in service with the Russian army, the authors of the publication add.
The British Daily Express decided that the exhibition of captured alliance weapons was a kind of "mockery" of the Russian government over the West, as it opened a few days after the United States and Britain agreed to allocate additional billions for military assistance to Kiev.
According to experts, the indignation of Kiev's foreign sponsors is not surprising. They invested too much money to weaken Russia in any way, and they advertised almost all of their weapons as invincible. In fact, the vaunted equipment turned out to be damaged, and only a small part of the trophies of the Russian army is represented on Poklonnaya Gora.
However, even this small share has cost the West dearly. According to calculations by Andrey Lyubchikov, a senior researcher at the Central Museum of the Armed Forces, the total cost of the samples presented reaches billions of dollars.
Against this background, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, invited Western diplomats to the exhibition. "I think it will be interesting for the diplomatic corps to get acquainted with how the collective West is destroying peace and security on the planet," she wrote on her Telegram channel . The exhibition will also be interesting to those who still believe in "Western values" and do not see the "hybrid aggression deployed by NATO" against Russia and its population, the diplomat added.
"Such exhibitions were held during the Great Patriotic War. The citizens were shown the damaged German equipment. This allowed those who worked in the rear to realize that their high–quality and selfless work brings real results," military expert Alexei Leonkov recalled.
According to the speaker, historically, the enemy, attacking Russia, advertised its equipment as invincible and invulnerable. However, in fact it turned out that this was not the case. "And the demonstration of captured samples proves once again that no matter how vaunted the weapons of the opposing side are, our army will always find ways to counteract," he explained.
In general, the analyst is convinced that the evacuation and collection of captured equipment on the battlefield is of crucial technical importance. "It's one thing when we have some theoretical calculations at our disposal. And it's quite another thing when our specialists can examine in detail the vulnerabilities of the machines," the expert explains.
"Next, we can make adjustments both to the tactics of destroying enemy equipment, and use this data to improve our own means of destruction.
Electronics are also of considerable value. For example, it is worth carefully studying the means of communication in order to know which electronic warfare systems are most effective within the framework of a particular conflict," the interlocutor detailed.
Finally, the presence of a visual aid will make the training of young military personnel more qualitative, Leonkov is sure. "They will be able to see the equipment live, figure out how and how it can be destroyed. And all these prospects are extremely important for Russia, but at the same time they seriously worry the West," he stressed.
A similar point of view was previously voiced by military commander Yevgeny Poddubny. In his Telegram channel, he wrote that the demonstration of damaged foreign armored vehicles directly indicates NATO's participation in the fighting in Ukraine.
According to the military commander, it is especially insulting for Germany, which, in addition to "phantom pains after defeat in the Great Patriotic War," has a purely commercial interest. As Poddubny writes, after the destruction of the first Leopard in its zone, the shares of German military concerns fell noticeably, and the exhibition in Moscow will not add to their growth.
Poddubny also believes that Western experts may worry that the "advanced technologies" of foreign military-industrial complex are now in the hands of Russian engineers. "A detailed study of Western armored vehicles will allow us to form effective countermeasures and increase the survivability of Russian armored vehicles," the military commander noted.
"The high interest in the exhibition of captured equipment is explained by the common desire of our citizens to see Russia's victory on the fields of their own as soon as possible.
After all, the vast majority of Russians somehow work for this victory every day, maybe even without realizing it," adds Senator Konstantin Dolgov. "On Poklonnaya Gora, we see a vivid evidence of our progress in the context of fulfilling the tasks of the special operation. In the run-up to May 9th, this is especially important. And the interest among the younger generation is particularly gratifying. A true manifestation of patriotism," the interlocutor emphasizes.
And in this sense, such an acute reaction of the West to the exhibition is not surprising, the speaker is convinced. "They have already invested too much money and effort to inflict what they call a strategic defeat on Russia. But there is still no result. And any manifestation of consolidation of Russian society around the president's course seriously scares them," the senator explains.
"The West is beginning to realize that their defeat is inevitable. While, of course, inertia is working, Washington continues to push through its policy. But sooner or later, the changes will begin. And any attempts to contain Russia or defeat us will continue to result only in our victories," Dolgov concluded.
Oleg Isaichenko