Russian official media reports that Moscow plans to “reverse-engineer” Western technologies taken by its soldiers in Ukraine.
“Why not take a look inside and see if there’s anything that applies to us if we have the chance?” Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, said as much on the official Russia-1 channel.
Russia’s T-90M Proryv-3 tank, built to be a “main competitor” to the U.S. Army’s Abrams M1 tank, was praised by the Kremlin leader, although it is unclear what technology he was referring to. Earlier this year, Washington promised 31 Abrams to Ukraine, and their delivery is anticipated in the following weeks and months.
When asked if he was exaggerating when he called the T-90 “the best tank in the world, without any exaggeration,” Putin said, “But the enemy also produces modern equipment.”
Leopard 2 tanks manufactured in the West have made their debut in Ukraine’s military. However, eight Leopard 2A4 and 2A6 tanks have been lost by Ukraine so far, according to Dutch open-source intelligence site Oryx, although none of them have been recorded as taken by Russian forces.
Russia’s air defenses reportedly intercepted a Storm Shadow cruise missile earlier this month in the occupied southern Ukrainian territory of Zaporizhzhia, and Russian state media said that Moscow officials had collected and were investigating the missile.
Russia has regularly claimed it had intercepted the long-range cruise missiles in Ukraine after Britain indicated it was deploying an unspecified quantity to Kyiv in May. French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Tuesday that his country will also be sending Storm Shadows to Ukraine, joining the Anglo-French weapon known as SCALP.
A Russian official media analyst warned Russia has “problems with long-range weapons” on the front lines in Ukraine in a video clip broadcast to Twitter the day before Paris committed its missiles.
Andrey Gurulyov, a Russian parliament member and former military commander, recently claimed that Russia’s long-range attack capabilities are “probably the main issue to pay attention to at the moment,” according to a footage tweeted by Ukrainian Anton Gerashchenko, and advisor to the Internal Ministry.
According to analysts, Russia is still using Western technology in its own armament, notably in many of its missiles, despite sanctions having been in place for some of these technologies for almost a decade.
