Russia's Military Collapse Provided a 'Lend-Lease' for Ukraine – Foreign Policy

It can be boiled down to a single historical factor: corruption.
Zelensky pledged no tolerance for corruption. Can he keep his promise?
Rolling power cuts, a failing grid, widespread coal theft, and corruption could pose a political threat to the African National Congress.
Like other rich countries, France is trying to go gray and stay solvent—and the French aren’t buying it.
Report: Russia Is Supplying Ukraine With Lightly Used Tanks Russia Is Supplying Ukraine With Lightly Use… | View Comments ()

NEW FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Click + to receive email alerts for new stories written by Jack Detsch Jack Detsch
Ukraine’s military has captured over 200 Russian vehicles in a more than weeklong offensive that has seen the war-torn country reconquer most of Kharkiv Oblast, a Ukrainian military official told Foreign Policy. The harvest of Russian armor is something that Ukraine now plans to use against the flagging Russian military.
As Russian forces surrendered more than 2,300 square miles to advancing Ukrainian troops in a little over a week—more ground than Russia has taken in the last five months of fighting—some troops running for their lives left vast stashes of Soviet-era weaponry, which the defending Ukrainians can now operate, including at least 17 vehicles on Monday alone.
Open-source tracker Oryx found that the captured Russian equipment varied from BMP-2 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles to scores of tanks, including T-80 variant tanks that date back to the 1980s, which experts pegged at about half of the combat-ready inventory. With poorly trained Russian units, some cobbled together from Russia’s national guard and police forces, falling away from the front lines, Ukrainian forces stumbled upon an embarrassment of riches on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s military has captured over 200 Russian vehicles in a more than weeklong offensive that has seen the war-torn country reconquer most of Kharkiv Oblast, a Ukrainian military official told Foreign Policy. The harvest of Russian armor is something that Ukraine now plans to use against the flagging Russian military.
As Russian forces surrendered more than 2,300 square miles to advancing Ukrainian troops in a little over a week—more ground than Russia has taken in the last five months of fighting—some troops running for their lives left vast stashes of Soviet-era weaponry, which the defending Ukrainians can now operate, including at least 17 vehicles on Monday alone.
Open-source tracker Oryx found that the captured Russian equipment varied from BMP-2 amphibious infantry fighting vehicles to scores of tanks, including T-80 variant tanks that date back to the 1980s, which experts pegged at about half of the combat-ready inventory. With poorly trained Russian units, some cobbled together from Russia’s national guard and police forces, falling away from the front lines, Ukrainian forces stumbled upon an embarrassment of riches on the battlefield.
“They just left their tanks, artillery, special equipment, a lot of armor, and were just trying to save their lives,” a Ukrainian military official told Foreign Policy, speaking on condition of anonymity to provide an update on ongoing military operations. “They will be used against Russia.”
But even with formidable U.S. and European military aid that made the Kharkiv assault possible, including multiple rocket launch systems and artillery, Ukraine is doubling down on its calls for more weapons in an effort to liberate as much Russian-occupied territory as possible before winter sets in.
“The U.S. didn’t start their Lend-Lease program, but instead of the U.S., the Russian government started a Lend-Lease program for Ukrainian forces,” the official added, referring to the World War II-era program to provide U.S. allies with food, oil, and materiel that has been revived for Ukraine.
The losses of equipment, vehicles, and troops from the Ukrainian surge in the last week have also left some Russian units in tatters. Britain’s defense ministry reported on Tuesday that the 1st Guards Tank Army—one of Moscow’s most prestigious military units, tasked with guarding the Russian capital or leading counterattacks in a possible war against the NATO alliance—was withdrawn from Kharkiv in a “severely degraded” state. “It will likely take years for Russia to rebuild this capability,” the ministry assessed.
For months, as the full-scale invasion has forced parts of Ukraine’s robust defense industry—one of the largest in the former Soviet Union and one of the biggest arms-producers, period—into semi-hibernation, the Ukrainian military has been able to capture, modify, and repurpose Russian equipment left behind or rendered ineffective on the battlefield, experts said.
“They’re doing a lot of mods, like interesting things with captured Russian equipment,” said Jeb Nadaner, a former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial policy during the Trump administration. “They’ve got a capability, particularly with captured equipment.” Russian strikes have targeted industrial facilities, such as Kharkiv’s tank repair plant and the Malyshev tank factory, forcing Ukraine to repurpose garages and junkyards to repair their vehicles or prepare captured Russian equipment to meet its maker.
But the capture of perhaps hundreds more modern and Soviet-era Russian vehicles comes as Ukrainian officials are pressing the Biden administration at high levels to send advanced Western main battle tanks to Ukraine, as the war-torn country has shown a higher degree of capability with tank and armored vehicle assaults against poorly defended Russian positions over the course of the lightning offensive. Speaking to reporters on Monday, a senior U.S. military official, speaking on condition of anonymity based on ground rules set by the U.S. Defense Department, said reports of Russian troops abandoning equipment “could be indicative of Russia’s disorganized command and control.”
The Ukrainian military official who spoke to Foreign Policy said modern NATO-grade battle tanks, such as the M1 Abrams or German Leopards, were high on the list of Kyiv’s requests to the United States and European countries at the Ramstein conference last week. The German Leopards appear more amenable to European armies versed on similar kit.
Ukraine’s seemingly insatiable appetite for more tanks is the sharp end of the military’s desire to reclaim as much territory as possible before winter, experts said, when Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to use natural gas cuts and attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure to sap Western enthusiasm for the fight.
“That’s why we are saying it’s very important to get back as much of our land as possible before the winter comes,” said Alyona Getmanchuk, founder and director of New Europe Center, a Kyiv-based foreign-policy think tank, on Monday.
Although Ukrainian officials are optimistic about getting more tanks from the United States and Europe in the coming days, the West has been noncommittal at best. German defense minister Christine Lambrecht rejected a Ukrainian call for tanks on Monday. And while the United States acknowledged that Ukraine’s armor assaults had been effective in Kharkiv, it wasn’t clear that more aid was on the way.
“The Ukrainians are showing that they are quite effective in the counteroffensive in using armor,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity based on ground rules set by the Pentagon. “So, clearly, that kind of capability is important.”
Jack Detsch is a Pentagon and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @JackDetsch
Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.
Already a subscriber? Log In.
Subscribe Subscribe
View Comments
Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.
Subscribe Subscribe
Not your account? Log out
View Comments
Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines. (Required)
The default username below has been generated using the first name and last initial on your FP subscriber account. Usernames may be updated at any time and must not contain inappropriate or offensive language.
Username
I agree to abide by FP’s comment guidelines. (Required)

Sign up for Morning Brief
You’re on the list! More ways to stay updated on global news:
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
Editors’ Picks
Twelve experts weigh in on how to prevent, deter, and—if necessary—fight the next conflict.
Not planning for the possibility of disintegration betrays a dangerous lack of imagination.
The artillery-fired cluster munitions could be lethal to Russian troops—and Ukrainian civilians.
Some brief foreign-policy advice for the newest members of the U.S. legislature.
Sign up for Morning Brief
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.
Your guide to the most important world stories of the day. Delivered Monday-Friday.
Essential analysis of the stories shaping geopolitics on the continent. Delivered Wednesday.
One-stop digest of politics, economics, and culture. Delivered Friday.
The latest news, analysis, and data from the country each week. Delivered Wednesday.
Weekly update on developments in India and its neighbors. Delivered Thursday.
Weekly update on what’s driving U.S. national security policy. Delivered Thursday.
A curated selection of our very best long reads. Delivered Wednesday & Sunday.
Evening roundup with our editors’ favorite stories of the day. Delivered Monday-Saturday.
A monthly digest of the top articles read by FP subscribers.
By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy.
Registered
Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.
Subscribe
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.
Subscribe
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
With a Russian offensive brewing in the southeast region of Ukraine, Western governments are scrambling to keep up arms shipments. Has Russian President Vladimir Putin learned the lessons fr…Show moreom his last, disastrous mobilization? And what does Ukraine need from the West to prepare for the next one?  Alongside land war in Europe, increased tensions between the United States and China have caused alliances to shift. With new players on the rise and geopolitical interests changing dramatically, FP reporters will share what they’ve been hearing from key global players. For the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war and a look at what’s to come in geopolitics, join FP’s executive editor, Amelia Lester, and FP’s team of reporters for a timely conversation.
By signing up, I agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to occasionally receive special offers from Foreign Policy.
Registered
Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.
Subscribe
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Only FP subscribers can submit questions for FP Live interviews.
Subscribe
ALREADY AN FP SUBSCRIBER? LOGIN
Two years into his first term, how has U.S. President Joe Biden fared on foreign policy? Is there a clear Biden doctrine? Is America in a stronger or weaker position globally?  The answers …Show moredepend on whom you ask.  Join FP’s Ravi Agrawal for a lively discussion about the Biden administration’s foreign-policy successes and failures half way through his first term, with Stephen Wertheim, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Nadia Schadlow, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a former U.S. deputy national security advisor for strategy during the Trump administration.  
The last few years have brought historic challenges for multinational companies. Nationalism and protectionism were already on the rise when COVID-19 shut down global supply chains. Then Rus…Show moresia invaded Ukraine, and businesses around the world confronted a decision on whether to pull out of the Russian market. It raises a series of questions: In a fractured world, how do companies with large global footprints decide which side to pick? How does industry define it values? And what happens if the United States and China continue down a path of decoupling? FP’s Ravi Agrawal sat down with industry leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss how businesses can build resilience amid a turbulent geopolitical era. The panelists included Anne Richards, CEO of Fidelity International; Carmine Di Sibio, CEO of Ernst & Young; Mathias Miedreich, CEO of Umicore; and Lubna S. Olayan, chair of the executive committee of Olayan Financing Company. Watch the full interview for insights on how industry thinks about deglobalization, the U.S.-China rivalry, the war in Ukraine, and much more. Or read a transcribed Q&A here. Also this week in Davos, Ravi convened four business leaders from the energy sector to examine how digital technologies and data can help reduce the energy industry’s carbon emissions. Speakers included Boston Consulting Group CEO Christoph Schweizer, Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark, Schneider Electric CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire, and SLB’s Dr. Katharina Beumelburg. Watch the full discussion here.  
The United States is the only Western government that routinely rewards mega-donors with top diplomatic posts.
The program revisits a dark episode for the prime minister. New Delhi’s move has only brought more attention to it.
Mohammed al-Sudani’s public support of U.S. troops reflects a behind-the-scenes shift—and the continued threat from the Islamic State.
The United Kingdom and Eastern Europe are pushing for the United States and Germany to seriously arm Ukraine—and quickly.

source