The Russians have problems with infantry fighting vehicles, used for armoured assaults against Ukrainian positions. This is evident, because they are building something Ukrainians named “frankensteins” – machines cobbled together from many different parts. At least they are helped by the fact that they can use machines captured from the defenders of Ukraine, but they are often badly damaged in battle.
Russians installing a turret from a BMP-1AM Basurmanin on a captured Ukrainian BMP-1. (Screenshot)
Russia lost many tonnes of armoured equipment in its war against Ukraine, and the warehouses have long run out of decent quality soviet machines that could be pulled out and resurrected. They still have weapons but a lot of them are in poor condition and require a lot of work to bring them back into service. Russians sometimes seize damaged Ukrainian equipment (Ukrainians also capture and use Russian machines), but it is difficult to repair damaged vehicles due to the lack of parts. Russia still considers itself the second most powerful military in the world, but that image is now based on nothing.
A video has appeared online showing how Russians are trying to revive a captured Ukrainian BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle and lift it to the BMP-1AM Basurmanin standard. The latter infantry fighting vehicle has been in service in Russia since 2020, but apparently, Russia cannot make enough of them so they create such cobbled-together vehicles. Here Russians are installing a BTR-82A turret on the captured BMP-1.
15th December 2023
Previously unseen captured 🇺🇦Ukrainian BWP-1.
Russians are installing turret from BTR-82 on it. pic.twitter.com/02jvV67XWK— Aloha (@aloha9916) March 24, 2024
The 30 mm automatic cannon 2A42 used by the Basurmanin is a much more versatile weapon than the 73 mm 2A28 Grom gun used in the standard old BMP-1. The Grom has a range of up to 4.5km, which is greater than that of the 2A42, and can be used as self-propelled field artillery, but the 30mm 2A42 is faster and can be used against all kinds of different targets. In addition, it is likely that the Ukrainian equipment that fell into Russian hands was damaged and maybe didn’t even have a turret.
The fact that the defenders of Ukraine have to use the BMP-1 is, of course, not great either, because it is an old machine. But Ukraine did not choose to be invaded and did not consider its armed forces to be the second-best army in the world. In the meantime, Russians will be able to enjoy the BMP-1 with the Basurmanin turret until the old armour is visited by a new FPV drone.
It is also interesting, where Russians got a spare Basurmanin turret. Maybe they just had them made and stored. More likely, a Basurmanin vehicle was destroyed and the turret is the only thing that remained in a usable state.
Written by Povilas M.
Source: Tech.wp.pl