Russia arms itself: With “thousands of tanks” and (perhaps) a drone factory, coke is billed as an expense: British ex-MP must be held in custody

Russia is responding to Western tank and missile deliveries and, apparently, to its own losses in the war in Ukraine. Former President and confidant of Putin Dmitry Medvedev wants to build more tanks and modernize existing equipment. On a visit to a mechanical engineering company in Omsk, he said: “We are talking about the production and modernization of thousands of tanks.” Apparently, Iranian drones will soon be produced in Russia.

The former Russian president shared a video commenting on the West’s announced supplies to Ukraine. “As you know, yesterday our enemy abroad begged for planes, missiles and tanks,” Medvedev said in the recording. Tanks – raise». He referred to the recent visits of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to London, Paris and Brussels.

Medvedev, who served as Russia’s president from 2008 to 2012, is considered a close confidant of current Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin and an outright advocate of an aggressive war against Ukraine. He now had himself demonstratively filmed in Omsk inspecting armored vehicles.

Observer: Russia lost half of its tanks

He will probably need them too: Russia may have lost nearly half of its tanks in the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the US television station CNN. The “Oryx” observer group, which evaluates publicly available information on losses, told the broadcaster that 1,000 destroyed tanks had been recorded. Another 544 were captured by Ukrainian forces, 79 damaged and 65 left behind. Jakub Janovsky, one of the “Oryx” analysts, estimated the number of Russian tanks at the beginning of the war at 3,000 vehicles.

According to CNN information, there are several reasons for the losses: Some Russian tanks have an Achilles heel – a shot in the right place can destroy the tank. In addition, many of the tanks — including the remaining models — are not well maintained, analyst Janovsky said. He doubts whether Russia can build new tanks fast enough. “Due to sanctions, they may have to replace sensors and electronics with inferior alternatives – and the amount they can produce in the short term is a fraction of what they lose. These material losses… are not sustainable,” he reviewed in September all the Russian supply situation.

Iranian drone factory in Yelabuga?

The situation is different with combat drones and missiles. These are supplied to Russia, among others, from Iran. Months ago, there were rumors that Iran wanted to help set up production facilities on Russian soil. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, these plans will soon become a reality. A factory is planned to produce 6,000 drones based on Iranian designs. According to the report, an Iranian delegation flew to Russia in January to discuss details, including its location in the Tartasatan region of Yelabuga.

The drones built there should also be faster, according to the paper, and make it more difficult for Ukrainian defenses to intercept them. The visit was not confirmed by the Iranian and Russian sides. So far, Russia has mainly used Iranian Shahed-136 drones, which carry few explosives, yet inflict significant damage when they collide with a target. Some of these have apparently been used in attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

In January, Germany and the US announced the delivery of modern Leopard 2 and Abrams tanks. The federal government has also released Leopard 1 models for export. The US will supply long-range missiles to Ukraine. The $2.2 billion aid package also includes equipment for Patriot air defense systems, precision munitions and Javelin anti-tank weapons, two US officials familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. In addition, glide bombs will become available that can fly far behind the Russian front line and attack supply routes.

(t-online, when)