Attention is drawn to the number of logistical and air defense vehicles such as the Pantsir abandoned due to lacerated tires or faulty axle ends.

All over Ukraine images of vehicles abandoned by Russian Forces. Almost all of these abandonments are due to problems with tires and axles. Of course also with fuel supply problems.

The thread below carries various comments such as ‘corruption in truck maintenance’ and climate change are combining to wreak havoc on Vladimir Putin’s invading forces.

Every year, when the snow melts in spring (especially with the last snowfall in April), the fields in Ukraine can become so muddy that they are impassable.

The Russians call it “Rasputitsa” and it may be forcing convoys to stay on paved roads. Some images appear to show abandoned armored vehicles after the Russians tried to put trees under their wheels to keep them out of the mud.

Trent Teletenko, a former US Department of Defense civil servant who had responsibility for assisting with the audit of army vehicles, suggested that the Russians were neglecting to properly maintain their vehicles.

28-02:

Russian Pantsir-S1 SHORAD abandoned by its crew and seized by Ukrainian forces. pic.twitter.com/YZD0tTKzHL

— Kemal (@kemal_115) February 28, 2022

Teletenko saw footage on social media of Ukrainian forces towing a Russian Pantisir missile system that was abandoned after becoming bogged down in a muddy field. He lost several tires as he was pulled out of the mud, which he says suggests maintenance issues.

Teletenko says it’s vital that military trucks are serviced every month to allow the central tire inflation system to be “started up” and checked for leaks or contamination. They also need to be moved monthly because direct sunlight attacks the compound in the rubbers, creating the so-called “aging” effect on truck tires.

“No one has moved this vehicle for a year,” he said of the Pantisir.

“When you leave military trucks in the same place for months on end, the sidewalls become brittle/brittle so using low tire pressure for any appreciable distance will cause the tires to fail catastrophically through rips,” said Teletenko on Twitter.

Russian soldiers are believed to be lowering tire pressure to try to drive off-road.

He said that as the Russian army was “too corrupt” to use their vehicles properly, they could not be risked off-road during mud season. If the Pantisir vehicles were not being properly maintained, it was unlikely that other military vehicles would be.

https://twitter.com/oryxspioenkop/status/1498745704566730765

 

“Given the demonstrated levels of corruption in truck maintenance. There is no way that there are not enough tires in the Russian army’s logistical system,” added Teletenko.

Early in the war, lack of fuel and poor planning dashed Putin’s hopes of a blitzkrieg invasion.

Units were lost in the advance when the Russians became bogged down, which is feared to have prompted the army to resort to siege tactics.

Experts noted apparently weak coordination between military units with some forces operating without air cover.

It is believed that Ukrainian forces may have hit logistical elements rather than facing Russian armored troops directly.

Source: with Agencies