Russian army uses trees and sandbags as armor in the Ukrainian mud
PANAGYURISHTE, ($1=1.79 Bulgarian Levs) — Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the start of the war between the two fraternal peoples began on February 24 and the fighting between Russians and Ukrainians has continued for 10 days. Moscow’s goal is to take Kyiv, control the capital and replace the current leadership of the country with one convenient for Russia.
- Two Russian Su-35Cs were shot down over Kyiv, Ukraine claims
- Russian forces already captured Chernobyl and surround Kyiv
- 24/7 BulgarianMilitary.com – all you need to know about Ukrainian – Russian war
With each passing day, Russian troops are slowly entering Ukrainian territory. Thus, the farther into Ukraine are the Russian ground forces, the longer their delivery route from the starting point. In this case, these are the border areas between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the border areas between Belarus and Ukraine.
In winter conditions, which are about to turn into spring with rainfall, Ukrainian mud is beginning to play a key role. Transportation of fuel, ammunition, food, and medical supplies is becoming slower and longer, increasing the chances of the Ukrainian military attacking these convoys. A vehicle can be stopped with just one bullet. No special military air operation or the use of anti-tank weapons systems is required.
If you shoot with a weapon at the radiator of the Russian KAMAZ trucks, which are in a prominent place in front, the chances of damaging the radiator and stopping the truck are very high. Pictures of such Russian trucks carrying engineering technology after World War II [PMP Floating Bridge] with felled trees neatly arranged along with the radiator height, continuing upwards and covering much of the truck’s windshield have appeared on social media.
Although wood is a highly flammable agent, such “natural armor” can stop a bullet fired at a radiator. Otherwise, it can save the driver’s life, and even if the radiator overheats and the machine stops, the chances of escaping from the cab are high.
Disorder
We talked about the mud, the rainfall, the nature, the increased distance to the final destination. If we who are not military and have not waged tactical wars understand this, how come the Russian officers and commanders-in-chief did not foresee it, given that the conditions in Ukraine and Russia are the same?
Western reports say such action is causing chaos and confusion among the Russian military. And maybe it’s because the delivery lines are getting longer and because of the conditions: slower and slower. This is how great targets for the Turkish Bayraktar TV2 drones that Ukrainian forces have become.
This is not a conjecture, these are the facts. The inability of the Russian military to secure these routes has led to hundreds of videos in the media of burned delivery groups, equipment, or convoys. The removal of road signs from Ukrainians on the way to Kyiv also confuses the enemy.
The very use of logs as armor speaks of disorder. Everyone knows [you don’t have to be a soldier, an engineer, or a firefighter] – the tree is burning. You don’t even need a bullet to damage the truck’s radiator, just throw a Molotov cocktail and you’ve solved the problem.
Sandbags and homemade armor
The Russian army is currently throwing tanks at the forefront, which are at the end of their life cycle. That is the logic, and rightly so. For this reason, the old tanks do not have the modern armored coverings of the renewed ones. That is why the Russians continue to use “strange” techniques of “homemaker”.
We know that there is at least one captured Russian T-72 tank. Distributed photos show sandbags on the tank’s turret, which are supposed to improve the explosion-proof effectiveness of jet armor blocks. Sources say logs have also been spotted on Russian tanks. We assume that because of the mud they will be needed. Just days before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, BulgarianMilitary.com released a video of an exercise by a Russian tank brigade near the Ukrainian border. All the tanks were stuck in the mud in this video, and an excavator was trying to pull them out.
And do you remember the homemade cage? BulgarianMilitary.com was the first to report a Russian tank in Crimea spotted in 2021 with a welded makeshift metal cage on the tank’s turret, which is supposed to knock down the cumulative energy of a projectile, or drone, at the time of his “kamikaze” mission.
There is no information on how effective the logs on trucks, sandbags, and home anti-drone armor are. After all, if they keep the equipment intact at some point, or the soldier’s life is preserved, it is clearly worth the effort.
***
Follow us everywhere and at any time. BulgarianMilitary.com has responsive design and you can open the page from any computer, mobile devices or web browsers. For more up-to-date news, follow our Google News, YouTube, Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook pages. Subscribe to our Newsletter and read our stories in News360App in AppStore or GooglePlay or in FeedlyApp in AppStore or GooglePlay. Our standards: Manifesto & ethical princliples.