Two rifles for 22 soldiers?: There is a massive problem with Russian supplies

For months, Russian arms factories have been producing around the clock. Despite this, soldiers at the front complain that they have to use “sticks” to fight Ukrainian tanks. Because in the land of the Kalashnikov, there are problems with the production and delivery of weapons and ammunition.

According to their own statements, the Russian soldiers of the 72nd brigade are stationed near Bakhmut in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk. in one Video, which was uploaded to Telegram in early July, they are burying some comrades who burned alive in a Russian combat vehicle. They were waiting for orders, the soldiers say angrily to the camera. But instead of a Russian attack, there is deadly Ukrainian shelling.

The question of guilt has long since been settled for the Russian soldiers. “Damn commanders, come to your senses,” they complain about the slow chain of command, which is by no means the only reason for the anger, as the men make clear. “Give us ammunition! Give us vehicles!” they shout, reaching into their pockets and digging out the remaining supplies: a handful of shots for each soldier. “We have two guns for 22 people,” they curse. “That’s all. Damn bastards.”

And that’s all there will be, as the men of the 72nd Brigade make absolutely clear in the recording. “They forbid us to get new ammunition,” complains another fighter. “Yesterday we went to get supplies. But we were stopped halfway and asked to turn around. They told us that we would not get anything. It was an order from above. How are we supposed to fight like that?”

“Of course they withdrew”

The photo from eastern Ukraine is not the only one from the front where Russian soldiers paint a bleak picture of the situation. Reported almost at the same time Siberia Realities, a local affiliate of American radio station Radio Liberty, about a video showing mothers and wives of Russian fighters. Her sons and men have been fighting in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia since April, but have had no grenades or ammunition for their rifles since June 20.

“Why should they fight with weapons that can only be used as sticks?” asks one of the wives rhetorically. “Of course they withdrew,” she describes what her men did next.

These are reports that also match the experience of a Russian soldier from the north-eastern region of Ukraine. In early July, he told the Russian online magazine “People of Baikal” from his deployment in Luhansk. “Soldiers fighting tanks with machine guns? That’s half the truth,” he says in the interview. “Because if new ammunition is not delivered, you fight with a stick.”

Successful Ukrainian attacks

The conclusion is obvious: Russia, the country of the Kalashnikov, is running out of ammunition. This is what the reports from the front indicate. Western war observers and experts in the British Ministry of Defense have come to the same conclusion: the Russian troops have to ration their supplies in order to remain operational, according to a recent situation report.

From the outside, one can only speculate about the causes. Attacks on Russian ammunition depots are certainly a problem. Ukraine has reported several times in recent weeks that it has successfully targeted depots. In addition, the attacks on the two Crimean bridges, railroad tracks and other important infrastructure have very likely served their purpose: these connections are important for Russian supplies to the front lines.

This assumption is supported by the fact that the complaints of the Russian soldiers and their relatives concern three different regions of Ukraine: the north, east and south. This is not insignificant, because the front in Ukraine stretches over almost 1000 kilometers. The individual Russian troops are supplied via different routes.

“We’re missing a lot”

However, the ammunition problems of the Russian army do not seem to begin with transport, but already at home. Because while Ukraine and its NATO partners are only just ramping up their armaments production, Russian factories have been working for months “around the clock”, as the head of the state armaments company Rostec said in January. According to him, employees were even canceled public holidays and vacations in order to be able to provide the troops with all the necessary material. Rifle manufacturer Kalashnikov announced at the same time, in the first year of the war 40 percent more Having manufactured weapons than in 2021. But on the front line, full-time production doesn’t seem to make a difference.

She could not give exact figures, US intelligence coordinator Avril Haines said in December. “But in our opinion, Russia cannot replace what it uses. That’s why Russia is asking other countries if they can buy ammunition from them.”

Unsuccessful so far, as Russian President Vladimir Putin indirectly admitted in June at a meeting with military bloggers. He surprisingly admitted that his troops were not adequately equipped for the fight in Ukraine. “We are missing many things. Precision ammunition, communications, drones. We can make it, but not in sufficient quantities.”

Chinese components fail

In particular, the production of precision ammunition, which hits the target precisely thanks to electronic support, is likely to suffer from sanctions by the EU and the USA. The US think tank for strategic and international research (CSIS) says that the Russian defense industry has to replace more than 6,000 parts for military equipment because of export controls.

This works partially. Many components that were bought in the West before the war are now being ordered by front companies in third countries and then illegally smuggled to Russia. In rare cases, components can be replaced with domestic production in Russia. Often, however, the factories fall back on alternatives from China.

But the reliability of the Chinese components in particular seems to be like a coin toss: The number of faulty and defective electronic components in the armaments sector has risen from 2 to 40 percent if they are Chinese, according to the Russian business newspaper “Commercial” known in October.

Employees of the Russian defense industry confirm the problems. The independent Russian medium Polygon Media anonymously interviewed a number of them and released their statements in June. Accordingly, there is a lack of all components in Russian factories, especially in the electronic area, no matter how complex or simple. In at least one plant, employees were asked to install obsolete components or cannibalize other equipment. “Use what you can find on the ground,” a plant manager is said to have instructed his workforce.

risk of self-ignition

The result shows on the battlefield. Because in addition to Russian soldiers complaining about a lack of ammunition, guns and other equipment, reports of weapon systems that accidentally self-destruct during use are also making the rounds.

For example, video from June shows a Russian Tor air defense system loaded with short-range missiles, capable of defending ground targets against helicopters and cruise missiles, but particularly against drones in combat against Ukraine. But in the video, the rocket does not take course for its target in the air after launch, but turns loudly in a circle and hits the gate system itself.

On the same day, the General Staff of Ukraine announced that the Russian army was not allowed to use large quantities of new artillery ammunition. Due to production defects, the risk of self-ignitionit was said.

The exact cause is also unclear in this case. Ultimately, only Russia itself can clarify where the Russian production is stuck. However, it seems clear that the Russian defense in many Ukrainian regions currently consists primarily of extensive minefields and trench systems, and not of well-equipped troops.