“You load and cross your fingers”: Russian soldiers fire broken ancient ammunition
Created: 2022-12-15, 4:17 p.m
By: Jens Kiffmeier
From the last pipe: In the Ukraine war, Putin's soldiers shoot with 40-year-old ammunition.
Is the Kremlin organizing supplies from North Korea and Iran?
Moscow – In the Ukraine war, Russia is increasingly struggling with supply problems.
According to US intelligence, Vladimir Putin's army is running out of ammunition.
Currently, the soldiers are supposed to have to resort to inferior, 40-year-old projectiles – with a high failure rate.
"In other words, you load the ammunition, cross your fingers and hope it can be fired or that it will explode on impact," said a senior military officer at the National Security Council briefing.
The fact is now fueling speculation as to whether Russia can quickly organize supplies from North Korea or Iran or will suffer further setbacks in the campaign.
Ukraine war current: Because of the counter-offensive, Russia's soldiers are running out of ammunition
In the past few weeks, the army of Russian President Vladimir Putin has fallen badly behind in the Ukraine war.
The Russian troops are still occupying around 18 percent of the country.
However, with a large-scale counteroffensive, the Ukrainian soldiers finally managed to throw back the attackers and inflict heavy losses on Russia.
The course of the front changes daily.
Some 40 years old: According to US secret services, Russia is running out of ammunition in the Ukraine war.
© Daniel Carde/dpa
War in Ukraine: Russia's army is currently concentrating fighting on the region around Bakhmut
Russia is currently concentrating its forces on the fighting in the Bakhmut region.
According to the findings of the
Institute for the Study of War
(ISW) think tank, the Russian soldiers are using considerable resources of their remaining firepower in order to maintain the current pace.
According to their own statements, the US secret services have indications that the most ancient ammunition is being used in these battles.
As the US news
site taskandpurpose.com
reported, the Pentagon provided the National Security Council with a corresponding analysis in a background discussion.
Accordingly, Russia's stocks of fully functional rocket ammunition are said to be "rapidly dwindling".
Putin's troops are capable of maintaining the current rate of fire until "early 2023," the unnamed military official said.
Military situation in the Ukraine war: the Kremlin is apparently trying to get ammunition from North Korea and Iran
With the assessment of the military situation, the US Department of Defense also confirmed the view of the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines.
In a speech at the beginning of December, the latter indicated that Russia was "quickly reducing" its ammunition stocks and would hardly be able to replace them itself.
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At the same time, she warned that the Kremlin could organize the supply of artillery shells and rockets in North Korea or Iran.
The government in Pyongyang immediately rejected the allegation.
A North Korean defense ministry official was quoted by
Newsweek
as saying that it has never had "arms deals" with Russia and "has no intention of doing so in the future ."
The information about the broken ammunition and the replenishment cannot be checked independently.
Still, there are some indications that Russia is stuck in a dead end in the Ukraine war.
Reports keep circulating that the Russian soldiers are being treated inhumanely and that they are only provided with poor equipment.
The high level of wear and tear on the outdated material also plays a role in stories about Russian deserters, which is why speculation about a quick end to the Ukraine war is increasing every day.
Ukraine war: Putin's soldiers suffer from poor equipment
In any case, Putin hardly seems to be able to upgrade his army on his own.
This was also the aim of the sanctions imposed by Western politicians against the Kremlin ruler from the outset.
Because the import ban on economic goods should make one thing above all impossible: the repair and production of weapons.
Because the entire Russian armaments industry depends to a large extent on the import of technical chips and semiconductor systems.
For a time, Russia was able to circumvent sanctions by cannibalizing old electronics to repair broken tanks.
But now there is only the detour via friendly states such as North Korea or Iran.
Russia itself is keeping a low profile on the events.
The Russian Ministry of Defense did not answer
a request from
Newsweek .
Nevertheless, some experts also point to the fact that there has already been speculation about the end of the Air Force.
But in recent weeks Moscow has launched hundreds of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities and their energy supplies.
Some of the drones used came from Iran.
