Chris Panella
- New photos and videos show a Russian exhibit of captured Western tanks and artillery from Ukraine.
- The trophies supposedly include US M777 Howitzers, Swedish combat vehicles, and French AMX-10RCR fighting vehicles.
- Ukraine has its own display of wrecked Russian tanks and weapons in Kyiv.
A new exhibit at a Russian military theme park displays what are said to be pieces of Western military equipment captured on the battlefield in Ukraine. Videos and photos from the opening of the exhibit show what appear to be NATO tanks, artillery and armored vehicles.
The display at Patriot Park near Moscow opened August 15, RIA Novosti reported, and includes a variety of military equipment and weaponry. Each system includes the flag of the country that produced the asset and describes where and how the equipment was captured.
The new exhibit was opened for the Moscow Conference on International Security attended by Russian officers and defense companies.
Although Russia claims that the weapons were captured, it's not entirely clear if all the assets are real or if some may be replicas.
Some of the military vehicles on display, like what has been identified as an American-made M113 armored personnel carrier or a UK-provided International MXT-MV (Military Extreme Truck - Military Version) infantry mobile vehicle, are riddled with apparent bullet holes, seemingly indicating the vehicles were raked by Russian fire before their capture and hinting at authenticity.
Other items, like what was identified as a fully intact French-made SCALP (Storm Shadow) cruise missile, may be more questionable, though Russia has gotten its hands on a partially intact Storm Shadow missile.
One video shared by RIA Novosti shows more of the items on display, including a US-made M777 Howitzer, artillery that's helped Ukraine in its artillery fight with the Russians.
Various guns, rifles, and rocket launchers were also put on display.
Russian assets were also shown at the exhibit, including a Granat 4E unmanned aerial vehicle, a reconnaissance drone capable of monitoring and relaying radio signals.
And destroyed Ukrainian weapons were also included. The display included what Russia claimed was the wreckage of a tactical Tochka-U missile. Prior to this new display of Western assets, Patriot Park had exhibits of captured Ukrainian armored vehicles and patrol boats, as well as T-72 tanks.
Ukraine has their own exhibit of wrecked Russian military equipment, which opened last June. At the time of opening, it included mostly weapons that were captured during Russia's botched Kyiv offensive, including a T-72 tank, anti-aircraft artillery systems, and a BMD-4 turret. And last August, as Kyiv marked the country's Independence Day, the Ukrainians displayed burnt, damaged, and destroyed Russian tanks in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine has also managed to capture functional Russian weapons, which has put back in service to help fuel combat actions, including the ongoing counteroffensive.
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