The war in Ukraine undermined Russian power in the world arms market, say international experts
Russian President Putin said on Monday that Moscow was ready to offer its “most modern weapons” to its allies in Vladimir’s countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
Speaking at an open annual arms exhibition outside Moscow, Putin said Russian arms exports play an important role in the development of a “multipolar world” and that Russia “highly values the fact that we have many allies, partners and people who share our views on different continents”.
“We are ready to offer our allies and us the most advanced weapons, from firearms, armored vehicles and artillery to combat aircraft and partner drones,” the Russian leader said, according to message agencies AR.
Russian weapons, Putin said, are valued for reliability, quality and, most importantly, efficiency. “Practically all of it was not used in real hostilities,” the Russian president added, as quoted by the Interfax agency.
However, experts point out that the war in Ukraine, which Russia called a “special operation” but has been going on for almost six months, is not the best advertisement for the effectiveness of Russian weapons.
Sanctions led to Russia using semiconductors intended for refrigerators and dishwashers in military equipment – US Secretary Raimondo
In addition, the Russian military-industrial complex does not have adequate capacity to compensate for the significant equipment lost in the war in Ukraine, let alone spare capacity to produce weapons for sale. Also, Russian arms manufacturers became too dependent on Western contractors who supplied electronics for Russian weapons.
For example, during testimony before the US Senate in May, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo noted that Russia uses semiconductors intended for refrigerators and dishwashers in military equipment due to a lack of specialized components. Despite such official statements, experts do not overestimate the effectiveness of sanctions, because their impact is difficult to assess due to Russia’s transparency.
On the other hand, it is most useful for Ukraine to expand data on Russian weapons.
British newspaper times to say that she had access to a Ukrainian report that called Russian weapons “ineffective” and “obsolete”. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, which until recently used more weapons developed in the Soviet Union, concludes that Russian armored vehicles and helicopters are unable to withstand fire even from small arms, and missiles have only a 33 percent chance of hitting the target.
Russian helicopters can be shot down even with a machine gun – a Ukrainian report
Analyzing samples of weapons picked up on the battlefield, the Ukrainian military says that they are far from the declared standards. For example, the Ka-52 “Alligator” armored attack helicopter, one of the most modern in Russia, penetrates 7.62 mm small arms.
“This helicopter is called a “flying tank” in Moscow, the armored cabin of which produces a hit with a 12.7 mm caliber bullet, and the rest of the nodes are reliably protected, however, as it turned out in practice, the Ka-52 can be disabled with a 7.62 mm machine gun” , – says the text of the document, next to which there is an image of damage to one of the helicopters.
Ukrainian experts also underestimated the effectiveness of Russian missiles on the territory of Ukraine. The report confirms that the 3M-14 Kalibr sea-based cruise missile has only a 33% chance of hitting the target. Another missile is said to be only 49 percent accurate. Experts partially explain the number of civilian victims of Russian shelling with this Ukrainian Russian weapon. About 30 percent of the missiles used hit civilian objects, the British newspaper quotes the words of the Ukrainian report.
The Ukrainian report notes that modern drones present an insurmountable problem for Russian missiles. The Russian anti-aircraft missile system “Pantsir-S1” is not capable of resisting swarms of drones and has no protection against air strikes. A source in the Ministry of Defense added that the Ukrainian military sent two drones to divert attention and three to hit targets, which the Russian system could not cope with.
Russia is reducing exports, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense is responsible for fulfilling contracts
Due to Western sanctions and the loss of the war in Ukraine, the Russian government was forced to end contracts for the supply of weapons, a Ukrainian report claims.
“In March, Moscow signed a contract for the supply of two Ka-32 helicopters to Serbia. In May and June, Russia notified Algeria of delays in contracts for the supply of military equipment, including amphibious aircraft and software. In July, the Ministry of Defense offered to terminate the contract for the supply of Orlan-10 drones to Myanmar and to pay compensation. She also suggested postponing the delivery of four Su-30SME fighters, two Pantsir-S1 air defense systems and a radar system,” the newspaper quoted the Ukrainian report as saying.
The latest explosions of weapons warehouses, and the airline of a special base in Crimea, added humiliation to the Russian military, which you visit unable to protect the territory, which was considered deep rear. And although Ukraine has not officially taken responsibility for the explosions, unofficially Ukrainian officials have hinted to the press that these were military targets for Ukraine.
“It was an air base from which planes regularly took off to attack our forces in the southern theater,” a Ukrainian official told the newspaper. New York Timeswho added that “the device was used by all Ukrainian production”.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPRI), Russia remains the second largest arms exporter in the world. But its sales have been declining in recent years.
According to the audience, if the volume of arms trade in Russia has been falling before, now the traces of this decline are reduced in the reduction of Russia’s international influence, especially in the Middle East and Asia.
“173 day of war” using “battle-proven” Russian equipment – Indian newspaper
The Hindustan Times, one of the largest newspapers in India, a country that traditionally ranks first among the world’s arms importers and one of the largest importers of Russian arms, said in a tweet:
“Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘boasted’ about the ‘superiority’ of Russian weapons over his rivals during a speech at an arms exhibition outside Moscow”.
In a tweet, the Indian newspaper posted a video that it says is now “the 173rd day of the war” and uses “battle-proven” Russian equipment.
As the reviewers of the publication indicate Foreign Policyaccording to Pentagon estimates, Russian forces lost up to 80,000 people killed and wounded and lost several planes, tanks and armored vehicles.
“The longer the war lasts, the more difficult the situation will be for Russia’s defense and industrial base, which is the target of unprecedented Western sanctions and export restrictions. While the full impact of the sanctions may not be apparent now, they are likely to have long-term ramifications for Russia’s ability to project its power abroad, particularly in the Middle East,” viewers wrote.
The US views Russian arms sales as a destructive conflict in the region and a tool by which Moscow expands its political and military influence.
According to the Stockholm International Institute for the Study of World Problems, cited by visitors to Foreign Policy, as of 2012, Russia accounted for approximately 16 percent of all arms sales to countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Russia was second only to the USA. The largest regional customers over the past five years have been Algeria, which purchases 70 percent of arms imports to Russia, Egypt and Iraq.
“Buyers from the Middle East are attracted to Russian military products because of their low cost and Moscow’s willingness to sell them to anyone who can pay,” Jennifer Kawang, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Affairs’ American Government Program, and Frederic Veri, commented on the author’s article. fellow of the Middle East Program of the Carnegie Endowment.
According to them, the reduction of Russian arms sales means the creation of market space for other sellers, for example, for Turkey or China. But this shift creates both new opportunities for the United States and risks that Washington must be prepared for now.