Russia relies on unmanned combat drones in the Ukraine war.
The Ukrainian armed forces have come up with an innovative defense option.
KIEV – In the Ukraine war, both the Russian and Ukrainian sides are forced to resort to outdated equipment due to a lack of materials.
Vladimir Putin's army repeatedly demonstrates inventive talent and goes to the front with improvised "Frankenstein tanks" or converted ship guns.
Although Ukraine is constantly supplied with modern weapons from the West, the military leadership of Volodymyr Zelenskyj deliberately relies on an old-fashioned weapon in their battles, which was already used in the First World War: the Maxim PM1910 machine gun.
Ukraine relies on Maxim machine guns in the war: precise and tried and tested
The PM1910 Maxim machine gun was produced in the 1880s for use by the Red Army.
The weapon was built more than 600,000 times by 1943 and was used in both World War I and World War II.
After the end of World War II, the rifle was phased out by the Soviet Union and stocks passed to allied countries, including Ukraine.
According to
n-tv,
in 2012, the Ukrainian stock of Maxim rifles amounted to about 35 thousand copies.
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A PM1910 Maxim machine gun.
(archive photo)
© agefotostock/Imago Images
As military and geopolitical news portal
The War Zone
reports, the main reason the PM1910 is so popular in the Ukrainian military is because of its reliable operation.
The gun still has to be cooled with water to prevent overheating, but it fires accurately at range and has only low recoil.
In addition, the machine gun does not require any expensive cartridges, but fires with the widespread 7.62 mm standard ammunition.
The functionality of the more than 100-year-old rifle has proven itself for the Ukrainian military, which is why the PM1910 is still used at the front today.
As videos from social networks show, the guns are being upgraded with modern technology.
A clip on
shows how a soldier operates the old-fashioned machine gun with a modern telescopic sight and silencer.
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
Tanks, drones, anti-aircraft defenses: weapons for Ukraine
Defense gun against Russian drones: Soldiers improvise with old machine guns
The modern war technologies in the Ukraine war include combat drones, which are primarily used by the Russian side.
These are largely sourced from Iran by the Kremlin and upgraded to unleash even greater destructive power.
The combat drones from the Middle East are so dangerous because they fly towards their target at high speed and destroy themselves on impact.
They are therefore also referred to as "kamikaze drones".
Against this new war method, the Ukrainian armed forces seem to be resorting to a reinterpretation of their tried and tested methods: In a short video on the
TikTok
platform , Ukrainian soldiers demonstrate a construction made of four Maxim machine guns bolted together.
The rustic-looking turret is said to be intended for shooting down Russian drones.
(aa)
Rubric list image: © agefotostock/Imago Images
