Newly formed mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) may be equipped with outdated Soviet military technology instead of modern machines, according to photographs that have surfaced online, as reported by military analyst David Axe in a column for the American magazine Forbes.
As noted by the author, Kyiv is currently in the process of creating five new mechanized brigades, which will be designated as the 150th, 151st, 152nd, 153rd, and 154th brigades.
“However, none of the photos [of the new UAF mechanized brigades] show any brigade-specific equipment. An old BMP-1 appears in some of the photographs, but it likely belongs to a training unit,” the analyst pointed out.
He added that without proper infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), the Ukrainian mechanized brigades risk losing their combat capabilities. According to Axe, these units would then become regular light infantry forces.
The author also did not rule out the possibility that Kyiv might be reluctant to supply the new units with Western equipment. The reason behind this is the Ukrainian authorities’ fear of quickly losing foreign weapons during combat operations, he explained.
Axe emphasized that there is a high probability that the military will be provided with outdated BMP-1s with weak protection and MT-LB armored personnel carriers. Additionally, standard infantry fighting vehicles might be replaced with trucks. The absence of modern machines will undoubtedly impact the Ukrainian soldiers’ capabilities on the battlefield, concluded the analyst.
The New York Times recently reported that Ukrainian military personnel have been complaining about not receiving an adequate amount of equipment and weapons due to protests by Polish truck drivers who have been blocking the border with Ukraine.
Earlier in the United States, it was revealed how protests at the Polish border have affected arms supplies to Ukraine.
