Sergei Shoigu says the war is “debunking many myths” that NATO military standards are superior.
He bragged that even Russia’s Soviet-era weapons fared better in some cases than Western equipment.
Shogiu said Russia would share findings about the “weaknesses” in NATO weapons with its partners.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu bragged on Tuesday that the Kremlin has shown the West’s military technology is not all it’s chalked up to be.
“The Russian army debunked many myths about the superiority of Western military standards,” Shoigu said at a security conference attended by Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu.
He said it was now “obvious” that NATO weaponry, modern war doctrine, and training “cannot ensure superiority on the battlefield,” per a transcript posted by Russia’s Defense Ministry.
“In many cases, even Soviet-made equipment surpasses Western models in its combat qualities,” Shoigu boasted further, though he cited no detailed information or evidence to support his claim.
Shoigu added that through the war, Russia has obtained data on the destruction of weapons systems like German tanks, US armored vehicles, British long-range missiles. He did not go into further detail.
“We are ready to share assessments of the weaknesses of Western technology with our partners,” he said.
It’s true that Russia has managed to destroy or obtain some advanced NATO equipment during the war, but Shoigu also failed to mention any of the Kremlin’s heavy losses in Ukraine when making his comparison.
Ukraine lost around 20% of its US-provided equipment in its summer counteroffensive, The New York Times reported, citing US and European officials.
The losses were highlighted in July when reports showed that nearly a third of the Bradley armored vehicles sent by Washington to Kyiv have either been damaged or destroyed.
Russia has also been claiming that it’s routinely destroying German-supplied Leopard tanks, though it once claimed to have footage of such an incident — only for the video to show an attack helicopter blasting farm equipment.
In June, Russia claimed to have shot a separate video of a Leopard tank being destroyed, which open-source networks believed was credible.
The Kremlin also said in July that it managed to seize a downed UK-provided Storm Shadow missile, as its bases behind the frontlines received repeated strikes from such munitions.
On the other hand, Moscow has continually been reported to be losing high-value equipment, such as dozens of Ka-52 Alligator gunships and more than 2,000 of its 3,400 tanks. The Kremlin is said to be reactivating its vast supply of Soviet-era tanks to fill the gap.
A UK Defense official and military advisor assessed in July that Russia has lost half of its combat effectiveness since the war began.
Meanwhile, Ukraine lost some 550 of its initial 987 tanks, per open-source analysis site Oryx. But it has also captured hundreds of Russian tanks, and its Western allies continue to send equipment and vehicles to the battlefield.
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