Russia to deploy 1950s equipment in new offensive against Ukraine - British intelligence

The British Defense Ministry shared the report on Twitter.

According to British intelligence, Russia is moving reserve forces from across the country and assembling them near Ukraine's borders for future offensive operations. Most of the new infantry units are likely to be deployed with MT-LB armored vehicles removed from long-term storage.

For a long time, Russia considered them unsuitable for most advanced infantry transport tasks. These armored vehicles were developed in the 1950s as artillery tractors and have very limited armor and only a machine gun for protection.

Most of Russia's first-echelon assault units were equipped with BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles in February, which have up to 33 mm of armor and are equipped with a powerful 30 mm automatic cannon and an anti-tank missile launcher.

"Despite President Putin's claim on 07 July 2022 that the Russian military has not even started its efforts in Ukraine, many of its reinforcements are ad hoc groupings, deploying with obsolete or inappropriate equipment," British intelligence concluded.