Ukrainian soldiers pilot a captured Russian tank/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Reuters
2023.04.19 Wed posted at 13:06 JST
（ＣＮＮ） Several Western officials said on Monday that Russia was “going backwards” in terms of the equipment it is using to fight in Ukraine. Keep in mind that the tanks deployed by the Russian army include those introduced shortly after World War II. The army is struggling to replace tanks lost in battle.
The officials, who attended the briefing on Thursday, said they had not confirmed a significant increase in Russian military equipment. He pointed out that the equipment in use was also relatively old. He added that the Russian government is increasingly relying on older tanks in this war.
Specifically, the tanks “T80” and “T90” that were initially used were shifted to “T72” as the battle progressed, and it was confirmed that the “T55”, which had undergone repairs, was introduced for the first time this time. . A similar pattern applies to cannons as well.
The T90 and T80 were first introduced in 1992 and 1976 respectively. The T72 began operating in 1972. The T55 was introduced in 1948, shortly after World War II.
“They are falling behind in terms of equipment,” officials said.
Officials say the Russian military is still in a tight spot when it comes to strength. The reason is that while it is possible to recruit a large number of personnel, it is still not possible to properly train them.
Of the 150,000 people it allegedly mobilized, officials can confirm that 15,000 had received company-level training, although relatively small-scale training has been conducted in neighboring Belarus. .
The state of the Russian military has deteriorated since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, officials said.
