Forbes: the APU has run out of modern equipment for new brigades
The new 154th mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine received mainly armored vehicles, which are more than half a century old, writes Forbes. Ukraine has formed eleven new brigades, but they lack modern weapons. At the same time, foreign "donations" have slowed down significantly.
David Ex
Last fall, when the latest Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine was just beginning, the AFU began forming the first of eleven new brigades. Together, these brigades — with serial numbers from 150 to 160 — represent a ten percent increase in the land forces of Ukraine.
Theoretically, after about six months of training, these brigades will be deployed along the thousand-kilometer front line against Russia: they will have to defend in the east, hold lines in the quiet south, or even attack in the north.
But in practice, they desperately lack modern weapons. And this can become a serious problem for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since new, but poorly equipped brigades will replace the old, but technically better-savvy ones, which will finally be withdrawn from the line of contact — in some cases after a year and a half of continuous fighting.
“It remains a mystery where Ukraine will find enough mechanized equipment to arm these units," said the Militaryland analytical group, which tracks changes in the structure of the Armed Forces and reported on the formation of new brigades last year. ”The shortage of infantry fighting vehicles is already being felt."
One of the new brigades, the 154th mechanized, can be considered quite indicative. Each of the eleven new brigades has 2,000 people. Photos of the 154th mechanized at exercises - possibly in Ukraine, and possibly at a NATO base in the Czech Republic — give an idea of its technical equipment.
Tracked BMP-1s of the 1960s. The BRDM-2 wheeled reconnaissance and patrol vehicles are also of the 1960s. VAB wheeled armored personnel carriers made in France in the 70s. The M-1117 wheeled armored personnel carriers of the 1990s, a gift from the United States. The 154th mechanized brigade is mainly armed with old and light vehicles with armor no thicker than 33 millimeters - this is just enough to withstand machine gun fire.
In fairness, perhaps the brigade has heavier vehicles available — 60-year-old T-62 tanks. But it is possible that the T-62s seen at the Ukrainian training grounds are actually training ones and belong to the instructors, and not to the 154th brigade.
But if the 154th Mechanized does intend to use the T-62, this is an alarming sign for the army, which is otherwise armed with relatively modern modifications of the T-64 and T-72, along with a much smaller number of donated Challenger 2, Abrams M-1 and Leopards (Leopard 1 and Leopard 2).
At one time, the Russian army was laughed at when it removed the old T-62s from storage to replace the damaged tanks, and rightly so. However, it is no less shameful for the APU to throw “pensioners” like the T-62 into battle.
It doesn't help that foreign donations of armored vehicles have slowed significantly, peaking ahead of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the summer of 2023. This slowdown is the main reason why the new brigades are equipped with almost no modern vehicles, according to the Commander—in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Alexander Syrsky.
“The planned supplies of weapons and equipment will allow us to put our new brigades into operation as soon as possible — those that have already been formed or are still being formed," Syrsky told CNN. "Of course, this affects the overall level of our capabilities.”
Keep in mind that the Russians also have difficulties with completing new brigades with enough equipment. No wonder the Kremlin is increasingly equipping its units with civilian vehicles — from motorcycles to buggies.
However, even with motorcycles and buggies, Russians are generally better equipped than Ukrainians — and besides, there are more of them. Syrsky said his forces could mitigate the Russians' numerical superiority by “focusing on high-tech weapons.”
But the 60-year-old BMP-1, the “workhorse” of one of the newest AFU brigades, cannot be called high-tech in any way.
