Russia Stifled in Ukraine by 'Ageing Vehicles, Weapons': U.K. Defence

The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence on Thursday said that Russian forces are stifled in Ukraine by aging vehicles and weapons that are preventing them from quickly achieving advances amid its ongoing invasion.

"The ageing vehicles, weapons, and Soviet-era tactics used by Russian forces do not lend themselves to quickly regaining or building momentum unless used in overwhelming mass–which Russia is currently unable to bring to bear," the UK Defence Ministry wrote in an intelligence update on Twitter.

Russian troops achieved "no significant territorial advances" over the last 72 hours as of Thursday, according to the ministry. They are also at risk of losing any achievements made following the capture of Lysychansk, even though they continue to carry out artillery strikes across a broad front in the Donbas.

Additionally, the ministry said that "despite 13 July 2022 talks between delegations from Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the UN on grain exports and recent successfully negotiated prisoner exchanges, the prospects for wider talks to end the conflict remain low."

Meanwhile Russian forces on Thursday launched a missile strike hitting the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia, which is located 167 miles southwest of Kyiv, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said there were no military forces. The Russian missiles killed at least 23 people and injured over 100 others, according to the Associated Press.

"Rocket strikes in the city center. There are wounded and dead, among them a small child," Zelensky said in a video of the aftermath of the Thursday strike.

"Every day, Russia destroys the civilian population, kills Ukrainian children, directs rockets at civilian objects. Where there is nothing military. What is this, if not an open act of terror?" he added.

However, the British Defence Ministry believes that there are some setbacks that the Russian military is experiencing in Ukraine despite the recent missile strike. On Saturday, the ministry said many of the Russian troops are being placed in "ad hoc groupings" as they assemble reinforcements near Ukraine, adding that they are being equipped with "obsolete or inappropriate" gear.

The ministry said that Russia "moving reserve forces from across the country and assembling them near Ukraine for future offensive operations," and added that many of the new infantry units are "probably deploying" MT-LB armored vehicles, which Russia "has long considered unsuitable for most front-line infantry transport roles."

"It was originally designed in the 1950s as a tractor to pull artillery, has very limited armour, and only mounts a machine gun for protection," the ministry wrote.

Meanwhile, British Defense Chief Sir Tony Radakin said in June that Russian President Vladimir Putin has already "strategically lost" the war in Ukraine.

Radakin added at the time that Russia might see more "tactical successes" in the coming weeks, but the military is not making fast enough progress to eventually take over Ukraine.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian foreign affairs ministry for comment.