Captured Russian Equipment in Ukraine - (Featuring @TheChieftainsHatch )

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SPECIAL THANKS:
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Intro:
Captured equipment has been a feature of human conflict going back to the point where one human stole another human's bashing rock.

But normally there are limits on how much it can be used. Supplying, repairing, or training on captured hardware is usually a difficult thing - unless the enemy is using basically the same kit you are.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine involves a contest between two sides using compatible (largely) Soviet or Post-Soviet kit, coupled with a Russian force that seems predisposed towards abandoning equipment to the enemy.

The result is that Ukraine (supplied by its farmers in some cases) has made extensive use of captured kit (as have the Russian aligned proxies). This video looks at some of the data behind that captured kit, discusses some of the challenges involved in recovery and repair (thanks to a guest contribution by everyone's favourite US Officer, Nicholas Moran) and the strategic significance of all this stuff that's been recovered and reused.

Enjoy - and join me next week for a look at Russia's mobilisation announcement...

Patreon:

Caveats:
Many caveats are gone over in the video but the regular ones around fog of war and data uncertainty apply. Specifically, I want to point out that while I have a good body of evidence on the 93rd Mechanised and their use of captured equipment, such things a liable to change as equipment is knocked out or rotated and I obviously can't go down and check myself.

Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Opening Words
00:02:51 — What We're Covering
00:04:08 — Sponsor: GROUND NEWS
00:05:42 — Kyiv Thrust
00:06:59 — Abandoned On Withdrawal
00:08:30 — Kharkiv Reprise
00:10:06 — Putting It In Numbers
00:11:08 — Understanding "Captures", & Challenges With Sources
00:14:54 — Categorisation
00:17:01 — BDAR With An Expert
00:19:00 — BDAR With An Expert: Self Recovery
00:20:57 — BDAR With An Expert: Like-Vehicle Recovery
00:24:06 — BDAR With An Expert: Dedicated Recovery
00:30:42 — BDAR With An Expert: How Russia Categorises Its Repairs
00:34:16 — BDAR With An Expert: Replacement Components
00:38:54 — Like-vehicle Recovery & Self Recovery
00:40:13 — Tractor Brigade
00:42:43 — Specialised Recovery Assets
00:44:18 — Informal Procedures
00:46:52 — Frontline & Informal Repair
00:48:02 — Rear Area Capital Repair - A Significant Challenge
00:49:50 — Primary Contributors
00:50:44 — Calling Out Bulgaria
00:53:10 — Quantities & Significance
00:55:06 — Captured, Abandoned, & Foreign Supplied Equipment (ORYX)
00:56:32 — Evidence Of Deployment
00:59:04 — Ammunition & Smaller Items
01:00:40 — Let's Talk AA
01:02:26 — The Sensitive & Secret
01:04:40 — You All Wanted To Hear About It
01:06:40 — Conclusions
01:08:08 — Channel Update

Extra Reading:
Oryx - Documenting Russian Equipment Losses During The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

Jakub Janovsky - critical to supporting the Oryx work

Counteroffensive: Russian losses - @ragnarbjartur on Twitter

A Frontline Shadow Economy: Ukrainian Units Swap Tanks and Artillery - NYT

Poland multinational repair hub discussion

Fantastic OSINT complication of interesting vehicle captures/sightings

Thank you to those sources who contributed to the preparation of this video.

[PerunAU]

I'd also like to say thanks also to returning sponsor Ground News, who have been recurring supporters of the channel:
Compare news coverage from diverse sources around the world on a transparent platform driven by data. ground.news/perun

Ground news sponsorships have previously allowed me to donate to relief efforts in Ukraine - and I'll announce a new round of donations next week as voted by patrons.

Finally, thanks to everyone for understanding why I am not doing any coverage of Russian mobilisation until next week - your understanding of the fact it takes me time to gather and verify information is always very much appreciated.

[TheLamplghter]

Shout-out to Russia for dropping more items on defeat than the average JRPG monster.

[brucewilliams]

When I was a child, I was living on a military base. I would go into the wood and find all kinds of equipment left behind. My dad's unit found out that I had built up a pile of left over equipment, they asked my dad to bring me by. The supply sergeant offer to trade me for the equipment for a variety of items. I was proud to be part of the "lateral" supply chain. Thank you for the video.

[veejayroth]

As a Czech I am so proud of my small country doing its part in this conflict. To put it mildly, there might be a grudge or two to be settled with the Moscovites...

[francoispapadakis]

The letter "Z" used alone means "I require a tug" according to the maritime code of signals.
Ukrainian tractor brigades responded accordingly.

[Ticklestein]

“Tankfactories aren’t exactly known for their maneuverability” is my new favorite sentence

[JunGlisTsLdir]

Excellent video and as a Slav with a little farmer background I was hysterically laughing at the ''are you a true Slav if you don't immediately attempt to tow the tank away" sentence, well done!

[richyhu]

All of these videos are literally a college level course on military economics and logistics. All you need is a test or an exam. Bravo and keep it up!

[goncalovazpinto]

"are you a true Slav if you don't immediately attempt to tow it away?"

Nailed it! 🤣🤣🤣

[TheoEvian]

With the Czech involvement in repair of UA armoured vehicles: 1. we don't have tank plants. In the Czechoslovak times we used to be able to produce T-72 but when communism ended this ability ended too. However, the industry is still very much able to repair and upgrade T-72s and BVP-2s (BMP-2) especially - this point will become important later. But the most complex piece of kit we can actually produce is the Pandur IFV (imported know-how) and some of the SPG prototypes (SPG capabilities survived much better than the tank ones because they were domestically developed and DANA vz. 77 was in 1977 probably the best SPG in the world). 2. The czech arms industry was very optimistic at the start of the war - they produce a lot of ammo, spare parts or even newly made products (Vampir MLRS, the Bureviy and Neptune carriers etc, all made by Tatra), but they very quickly found that while they can repair T-72s and BMP-2s they don't know what to do with T-80s and T-64s. But it seems that these companies actually imported Ukrainian specialists to teach and assist their own employees (and with refugees now being around 5% of the population they wouldn't be even conspicuous) 3. The Czech arms industry is really producing weapons for Ukraine on the rate of like 120% and the same goes for Slovakia, Poland, Romania and a few others (and not so much for Germany or France). A big part of the 152 and also 155 mm ammo used is produced in these countries but really it is almost all-encompassing usage of the production capabilities. And from I have heard those weapons companies want for their trouble basically just minimal margin to keep themselves running. These facts have been not given enough media attention in my eyes. Partially because the Czech government is pretty tight-lipped about the whole deal.

[j.f.fisher]

Say what you want about Wargaming, I'm grateful that they gave The Chieftain his job and funded his research. He's a godsend to the tank enthusiast and segments of the military history communities.

[musername]

~50% of the number of your global subscribers have watched the video in the 1st 6 hours. 10% of those left a thumbs up, 5% commented. These are the best figures I‘ve seen on any channel, ever, yet you deserve more. Wish you all the best and thanks for the amazing content!

[veuriam]

For next week's topic, I would love to see your opinions on the Russian mobilization and what chance it would have to solve Russia's manpower problems. As always, thanks so much for the wonderful analysis!

[The_Bookman]

Holy smokes! The Chieftain! You have come a long way in a short amount of time! What a collaboration! Congrats!

[Karen_of_Kanada]

So, apparently the dissertation on vehicle recovery was the primer on logistics I didn't realize I needed. I only wish my university classes had been half this engaging and informative, because I honestly feel like I learned things today.

[brucemcleod]

As a former Mechanical Maintenance Officer, it’s gratifying to see this BDAR subject covered.

[CapnBlackJackHonour]

I’m literally saving this episode for a time when I’m not going to be interrupted or distracted.
Who knew that logistical analytics was a rabbit hole I needed in my life!?!

[kaseyfreudenstein]

After hearing the Cheiftan talk about the first level of recovery being "DIY" for the crew I cannot stress enough how much hard training experience is required to make a good crew.

When in Poland (as an American) they often complained our equipment was broken and dirty for public displays. Truth be told, I always hated that sentiment because each flake of paint missing was a lesson our crew learned putting in hard hours in the field, not neglect (the Poles have shiny display equipment for parades only). Being able to see an malfunction and go "get me a wrench, an aiming pole, and a sledge hammer" is something you can't teach in any manual. Hard earned experience and strict adherence to BII layouts honestly makes me think that in a fair fight with equal numbers, an American unit would beat a Russian unit, equipment differences be damned.

Best to learn the nuances of your equipment on the training fields than to try and learn the tricks of the trade as a 155mm round flies into your position. It looks as though instead of gardening for a General or driving in patriotic displays the Russians should have laundered some money into better war game exercises and breaking some equipment so they don't die when the games become real.

[GraemePayneMarine]

When I was an active-duty Marine in Vietnam (1969-70) my "office" was the "recovery" variant of the LVTP-5 amphibious tracked vehicle (LVTP-5R). You have refreshed my memories of some of the work we had to do. AND the Paperwork, of course! Thanks.

[stuartdollar]

As an American, I have nothing but admiration for the Ukrainian people, and especially NATO's Eastern members. The creativity of how these countries are aiding Ukraine merely scores the value of NATO as an organization and all its member countries.