The situation in the eastern regions of Ukraine, having passed, apparently, the peak of intensity, remains critical. Regular troops, units of the National Guard and the remaining volunteer units, which the command is trying to lead to unity of command, are experiencing difficulties with material support. The military equipment of Ukraine, given the main sources of its receipt, is estimated by experts as outdated, and does not always meet the requirements of modern combat. Sometimes it comes to the ATO zone faulty, and in some cases it is not able to get to the place of hostilities. At the same time, the latest, including foreign models, are coming into service.
Initial values
After the collapse of the USSR, vast reserves of army materiel, equipment, ammunition and equipment remained on the territory of independent Ukraine. In particular, the largest Odessa military district possessed a defensive-offensive potential, allowing its troops in the event of a global conflict to take control of the closest countries and reach the Middle East. In the first decades, a certain number of military units was disposed of, but, according to objective data, the military equipment of Ukraine in 2014 in numerical terms totaled:
- tanks in good condition - 683 pcs .;
- combat helicopters - 72 pcs .;
- BMP and BMD - 1965 pcs. plus 262 for the Airborne Forces;
- large-caliber (more than 100 mm) artillery systems (including guns, MLRS, heavy and self-propelled mortars) - 379 pcs. plus - 90 for airborne troops;
- aircraft in the Air Force - 400, including combat - 160 pcs .;
- transport aircraft - 27 pcs. (Air Force).
This, of course, is far from all. The figures indicated do not include off-balance units (excess property) that are obsolete and worn out to complete unsuitability, but are considered as possible sources of spare parts. Their number is many times higher than official data.
Losses
The outbreak of hostilities in the Donbass and in the Luhansk region was a huge shock to the Ukrainian armed forces. According to President Poroshenko, the military equipment of Ukraine in the first months of the conflict was destroyed by two-thirds (from 60 to 65%). Of course, each side during any military conflict traditionally seeks to inflate enemy losses and downplay its own, but experts who evaluate events realistically rely on documented data. Such evidence is considered to be the military equipment of Ukraine itself, photos and videos with unit numbers, the place of their death or capture.
Sizes of losses and trophies
During the three August weeks of 2014, the facts of the destruction of 385 tanks and armored personnel carriers were recorded, and the militia presented another 183 to reporters in a damaged, maintainable, or serviceable condition. In fairness, there have also been cases of the transfer of armored vehicles from hand to hand, sometimes repeated.
The leadership of the Russian Federation has been repeatedly accused of organizing or encouraging the supply of arms to the conflict zone. The fact that there seems to be Russian military equipment in Ukraine (from the point of view of the new Kiev administration) is indicated by the very fact that the militia of the DPR and LPR have a large number of multiple launch rocket systems. APU losses in artillery accounted for half of the entire fleet, including the MLRS (Hurricanes, Grads and Tornadoes). A third of this figure is the trophies of the enemy.
A similar picture is also observed for armored vehicles, trucks and auxiliary equipment.
Aviation
To date, the technical fleet of the Ukrainian Air Force is estimated at about 220 units. Losses (confirmed) during the East Ukrainian conflict ranged from 14 to 18 aircraft, including: two MiG-29 interceptors, one Su-24 bomber, seven Su-25 attack aircraft, three transporters (2 An-26 and 1 Il-76) , An-30 and Su-24 MR scouts. The air defense of the militia managed to bring down five Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters (ten in total).
At present, aviation military equipment of Ukraine practically does not take part in hostilities due to the strong opposition of enemy air defense systems, mainly based on portable anti-aircraft systems. Russia is also called as a source of supply for MANPADS, although there is no direct evidence of this. At the same time, the Air Force receives samples of modernized aircraft (for example, An-26 equipped with heat traps), however, it is not yet possible to assess the effectiveness of these modifications.
Rockets
The Tochka-U complex remains the most modern type of APU missile weapons. This model, adopted as part of the tactical forces of the Soviet Army in the early seventies and modernized at the end of the same decade, is intended primarily for delivering nuclear strikes. The missile has good accuracy, but is applicable, rather, in relation to the hidden bases of the militants (in the mountains, as in Chechnya, or in the desert, as in Syria), but in densely populated areas of Donbass its use is difficult. An explosion of a high-explosive fragmentation warhead with an explosive weight of more than 160 kg causes the expansion of 165 thousand fragments that kill all living things on an area of 2-3 hectares. It is simply impossible to avoid innocent victims with such a strike, however, the Tochka-U complex is Ukraine’s most accurate missile defense equipment.
Internal sources of replenishment of equipment
Ukraine in Soviet times was one of the main forges of the defense industry. The potential of the industry during the years of independence has considerably decreased, but it cannot be called zero. Kharkov plant them. Malysheva fulfilled export contracts and was engaged in the development of tanks of the latest generation, intended for the Armed Forces and foreign buyers.
A new military equipment of Ukraine has already appeared in the war zone in the East, manufactured by order of the ministries of defense of Iraq, Thailand, Congo and other countries. These are the modernized T-64B1M tanks, the newest Bulat (1 pc.), Armored personnel carriers BTR-4E, BMP-1 and 2, BREM, medical BMM-4C towing vehicles, other types and types of products of the defense complex (eighty units in total three months). The technique is good, but the crew training leaves much to be desired, and as a rule, there is usually no time for the full development of the materiel. It is planned to purchase another thousand pieces of different cars, including the BBM Dozor, Spartan and Cougar, but the question of the source of financing remains open. Soviet equipment is also being repaired and modernized (BTR-70 and 80).
Foreign sources
Western countries, mainly NATO members, express moral support to the country, cautiously sharing the view of the current government that Russian aggression may be taking place. The transfer of military equipment to Ukraine, nevertheless, is proceeding at a slow pace, and so far it mainly includes non-flying models of a defensively defensive nature. So, the Navy recently received coast guard boats from the United States , which can be used to mount small arms (it is, however, not, but there is very good electronic and navigation equipment). These small vessels will be able to use not only the military, but also rescuers.
The Ukrainian army is armed with American army SUVs "Hammer", but there are few of them. The APU also received special radars for determining the coordinates of mortar batteries by acoustic signals.