Already 100 missiles per month: experts spoke about Russia's new capabilities
According to analysts, the occupiers increased the production of missiles under sanctions.
Collage TSN.ua / The Russians has increased the production of missiles to 100 units per month
After the statement of the Spokesman of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuri Ignat, regarding the presence of foreign components in Russian missiles and drones, the situation was commented on by military experts.
According to their statements, the occupiers obtain foreign components through "gray" imports, after which the performance characteristics of not only missiles and drones but also aircraft and armored vehicles significantly improve.
Former spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, military expert Vladyslav Seleznyov says that, for example, the occupiers have recently increased the production of missiles by one and a half times.
"Does the defense-industrial complex of the Russian Federation work? Yes, it does. Even despite the powerful sanctions policy in relation to the Russian Federation, it is obvious that Russian companies producing missiles and other types of weapons and military equipment receive certain components for the production of modern high-precision and very high-efficiency weapons of various ways, and at the expense of "grey" imports," says Seleznyov.
He adds: "Of course, the Russians cannot exponentially increase production volumes due to the effectiveness of the sanctions policy, but they are capable of implementing this to a certain extent. For instance, when talking about high-precision missiles, the representative of the Ukrainian General Staff, Brigadier General Hromov, mentioned that the Russians can now manufacture up to 100 missiles. Just three months ago this figure was - 67 missiles per month. That is, in fact, the volume of industrial production has increased by one and a half times. The potential is growing."
"Military-political analyst of the 'Information Resistance' group, Oleksandr Kovalenko, states that the Russians are capable of producing combat aircraft and helicopters, but this is a long-term production.
"They cannot produce these in large quantities and very quickly," Kovalenko analyzes the situation. "The point is that they have been improving almost all of their aviation for decades with equipment of foreign origin. For example, the same Su-30 fighter jet contains a significant number of foreign-origin parts to enhance its capabilities. For instance, French indicators on the windshield."
"According to Kovalenko, Russian armored vehicles also have foreign equipment, not just aviation.
"If there is no supply of equipment, the performance of Russian equipment will deteriorate. As for production, that's an interesting question. The Russians claim that they are supposedly improving their perfomance. They say that production has almost doubled. But I do not see this increase," says Oleksandr Kovalenko. - For example, it is known that they received two batches of Su-35, one batch of Su-34 and one batch of Yak-130 in the first half of 2023. At the same time, there was no transfer of Su-57 and MiG-35.
"They don't disclose the exact quantity in each batch, but knowing the quantities from previous years, it can be said that in the first half of 2023, they received 10 aircraft. Considering that the Yak-130 is not used in combat zones, they received 8 combat aircraft. These are not the volumes to boast about. For instance, in the USA, the production of fifth-generation fighters exceeds 130-150 units per year."
At the same time Kovalenko states that the Russians have a relatively large fleet of aviation, and it's not excluded that it consists of several hundred combat aircraft. "However, of course, not all of them (aircraft) perform well, not all have the capability to be used in combat format. Many pieces of equipment have exhausted their operational life and require repairs. The issue isn't so much about the 'hardware' as it is about the pilots. They have a limited number of professional pilots. This is a bigger problem than the shortage of aircraft."
How many thousands of tanks do the Russians have?
In the first weeks of the full-scale invasion, experts assumed that the occupying army had at its disposal no more than 3,500 modern tanks. As of today, August 17, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the year and a half of the war, the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 4,329 Russian tanks.
"According to the papers, Russia has 17,000 tanks in total. But we have to understand that there are tanks from the 1940s and 1950s. They can use something from these reserves, restore something," says Vladyslav Seleznyov.
Oleksandr Kovalenko, for his part, says that currently in the combat zone, the occupiers are using half of the number already destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"Now the Russians are using from 1.5 thousand to 2 thousand tanks in the combat zone. If we talk about the potential, there are many tanks left in Russia from the time of the USSR. But not all of them can be restored. They haven't been stored in dry facilities, and many storage conditions have been violated," says the expert.
Read also:
What prevents a fair end to the war: Podolyak named three problems
The occupiers are attempting to russify Mariupol - the authorities