Russia's «Oboronprom» turned out to be a Colossus with Feet of Clay

For centuries, the ideologues of the Russian world have been nurturing myths about Russia's might and invincibility. It was about brute force, mortal danger, and success stories. The role of other nations in the victories of the Russian Empire-Union-Federation was denied, while other people's achievements were appropriated. In such a simple way, Russia "won" World War II - in fact, there were almost no military operations on its territory, and the anti-Hitler coalition included dozens of states; Moscow also "sent" the first man on earth into space, keeping silent about the fact that the leaders of the space program, Serhii Koroliov and Valentyn Hlushko, were Ukrainians forced to cooperate in exchange for the opportunity to leave repressive camps. However, in 2022, Russia demonstrated what it is capable of without stealing other people's successes.

"To capture Kyiv in three days"

Western intelligence agencies were aware of Russia's plans to invade Ukraine and were confident that it would succeed. The awe of Russian power was deeply entrenched in the minds of the world's elites. On the 48th day of the bloody, unprovoked war started by Russia, during the occupation of hundreds of Ukrainian cities, massacres of civilians, and the destruction of Mariupol by carpet bombing, French President Emmanuel Macron failed to call Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide, arguing that the two peoples are "brothers."

Numerous attempts to avoid clear definitions, refusal to supply weapons, and calls to come to the negotiating table were dictated, among other things, by an overestimation of Russia's might and military power.

Everything changed once Ukrainians managed to defend major cities such as Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv and de-occupy the northern regions of the country.

The myth of the "world's second best" Russian army began to melt away. The battlefield and strong enemy test began to show concrete results. The Russian propaganda's bravura "horror stories" and Putin's speechwriters' passionate speeches were left face to face with the bare and unpleasant facts. So, what do we really know about the Russian army?

The "invincible" Kinzhal missiles

On May 4, 2023, Ukrainian air defense forces intercepted a "unique" "invincible" "hypersonic" Russian X-47 Kinzhal missile for the first time in history.

That night, Russia once again shelled Ukraine with various types of weapons. Kyiv was attacked, among other things, by an advanced Russian development.

Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk said, "I congratulate the Ukrainian people on this historic event!" To shoot down the missile, the Ukrainian military successfully used the American Patriot air defense system. For Patriot, the downing of a ballistic missile was also the first official debut in destroying targets of this type.

"The debris found shows that it received penetrating damage. This indicates that the interception was quite effective, with the destruction of the warhead still in the air," the experts said. It became apparent that although the Kinzhal missile accelerates to hypersonic speeds it cannot maintain such speeds permanently. "At the terminal stage, that is, during an attack, it enters the target along a ballistic trajectory and has a high, but far from hypersonic speed."

However, Russia has spent enormous amounts of money on the development of such "hypersonic" weapons as the Kinzhal and Zircon. In 2018, it was stated that these missiles could overcome not only all existing air defense systems, but also those that could be developed in the future. In fact, the "unique Russian development" was intercepted by the Patriot PAC-3 system developed in the 1990s.

The Russian Federation has not officially recognized the downing of the Kinzhal missile over Kyiv.

The Ukrainian Air Force Command has officially confirmed the downing of the X-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Meanwhile, three developers of the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles were arrested for treason because they undermined "the strategic basis of Russia's combat capability."

The "unique" Proryv tank. Is it a breakthrough or a failure?

A Russian defense innovation, the T90 Proryv tank was hit in May 2022 by a Territorial Defense fighter, Carl Gustav, with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. The myth of the tank's "invincibility" was dispelled. Since the beginning of the war, at least 15 vehicles of this type have been destroyed.

The T-90M is the best that the Russian military-industrial complex could offer. However, in reality, it is a rather primitive modernization of the old Soviet design of the T-72B tank from 1985. The engine comes from the T-34 and was developed in 1937. Given the current weight of the tank, the types of soil and climatic conditions in which it is operated, the engine obviously lacks power being so outdated that its power drops by a third at high temperatures.

The Russian army's "modern main battle tank" has an extremely specific automated fire control system. Inspections of the trophy model T-90M have shown that Russia not only does not produce electronics for it, but also tries to conceal information about the origin of some components. For example, it's only the labeling on the much-touted Russian Kalina fire control system that is of Russian origin. The widespread use of non-military chips and microcircuits has reduced the production life of the T-90M's electronics.

The T-90M's armor protection is conceptually the same as that of the T-72B, while the Relict dynamic protection system is a technological analog of the older Kontakt system. The only "design" solution implemented on the innovative T-90 is the additional armor to enhance armor protection. The combat operations have proven that this not only does not save the vehicle, but also creates problems with maneuverability and mobility.

The T-90M turned out to be an "innovation" of the last century, better suited for parades and amusing tank battles rather than the battlefield.

The "invincible" fleet 

 The 43-year-old cruiser Moskva was built at the 61 Communards shipyard in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, one of the cities regularly shelled by the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

On April 13, 2022, at a speed of 7 knots, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was hit. The "invincible" cruiser Moskva was hit by two Neptune subsonic anti-ship cruise missiles setting it on fire.

"I confirm! Two holes below the waterline! The propeller stopped! The bridge is cut off! Silent! Ship's roll 30 degrees! She will lie on her side..." - this was the message from the Moskva, according to an audio interception made publicly available by the Operational Command South.

The ship went down at 45° 10’ 43,39 N/30° 55’ 30,54 E in the exclusive economic zone of Ukraine. 

Now the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, lies at about 56 meters below the surface. As large as a 14-story apartment building, the ship is considered the largest sunken object on the Black Sea floor.

The destruction of the Russian missile cruiser paved the way for the liberation of Zmiinyi Island, which made it possible to launch a maritime "grain corridor" for the export of Ukrainian agricultural and food products.

The Russian military is currently resuscitating the remnants of its military power through illegal supplies of components from around the world. The vast majority of suppliers, even such explicit Russian sympathizers as Iran and China, officially deny providing Russia with dual-use goods. However, facts are stubborn things. Components for Russian weapons - including parts and components manufactured by Western companies - are entering the sanctioned country despite prohibitions and restrictions.

It is quite possible that when sanctions are finally lifted and supply chains are really cut off, the Russian military-industrial complex will crumble like a castle made of sand.