Russia Faces Difficulties in Production of New Weapons due to Western Sanctions

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) reports that, due to the influence of Western sanctions, the Russian Federation is experiencing difficulties with the production of new weapons.

However, Russia has enough old weapons in stock to wage war against Ukraine. This is evidenced by a CSIS report published on April 14.

According to preliminary estimates by analysts, Russia has lost at least 10,000 items of military equipment during the war, including tanks, trucks, artillery, drones, and more. Moscow is unlikely to be able to quickly rebuild its arsenal due to sanctions, at least in the near term.

The report also highlights that the Russians have already lost more than 3,500 tanks, which is why they are bringing old T-55s out of retirement. According to estimates, the Russian plant "Uralvagonzavod" can produce 20 tanks per month, while the occupying army loses almost 150 units during the same period.

CSIS notes that Russia lacks modern equipment, particularly optical systems, previously imported from France. Now the Russian Federation cannot purchase modern sights due to sanctions. By installing older ones, Russian tanks can lose up to 2 km in range.

Bearings needed for the production of vehicles, which were supplied from Europe and North America, have become unavailable to the aggressor country. Now they are forced to use bearings from China and Malaysia, which are significantly inferior in quality. Analysts predict that Moscow may have problems with its production of drones, missiles, and electronic warfare equipment due to a lack of microchips.

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At the same time, the researchers point out that Ukraine and its partners should not expect that Russia's difficulties in the production of weapons will quickly stop hostilities, as the Russian Federation still maintains a numerical advantage, with large stocks of old weapons.

As of February 2023, an exact count of Moscow's current military stocks is not publicly available, but it has been roughly estimated that the Kremlin has 13-15 times more aircraft at its disposal than Kyiv."Russia has almost 7-8 times more tanks and 4 times more armored fighting vehicles, and its navy is 12-16 times larger than Ukraine's," the report emphasizes.