New Ukrainian Brigades Lack Needed Vehicles, Have Obsolete Equipment - Report

According to a recent report by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Western military aid to Ukraine has plummeted by 87% year-on-year from August to October, reaching its lowest since January 2022 of $2.3 billion. This plunge can be attributed to the lack of new commitments by the European Union and the United States.

A Forbes article recently revealed that photographs featuring the five fresh mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were noticeably lacking combat equipment. Moreover, these brigades might be supplied with outdated Soviet vehicles.

Forbes explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are currently in the process of forming five new mechanized brigades: the 150th, the 151st, the 152nd, the 153rd and the 154th.

"None of the photos show the brigades' equipment. An old BMP-1 appears in some photos, but it probably belongs to a training unit," the journalist noted.

According to the article, the absence of infantry fighting vehicles turns the mechanized brigades into ordinary light infantry.

The news piece suggests that the new units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces will not receive Western combat vehicles, due to Kiev's fears over the swift depletion of new equipment during combat. Instead, the brigades are expected to receive antiquated BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, known for their poor crew protection.

If a BMP-series vehicle is hit, "the entire crew dies," a Ukrainian soldier said, as quoted by the article.

Furthermore, the report warns of the likelihood that the new brigades might be equipped with outdated MT-LB armored fighting vehicles or, worse yet, trucks as substitutes for standard infantry fighting vehicles.

"In reality, they may end up riding in thinly-armored vehicles—with an obvious effect on their combat power," Forbes writes.

For the past six months, Ukrainian troops have been trying to advance in the southern Donetsk, Artemovsk, and Zaporozhye regions. Despite being equipped with foreign weaponry and trained by NATO, the Ukrainian army has lost, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, more than 125,000 soldiers during the half-year-long failed counteroffensive.