Russia has announced that a US-made armored personnel carrier captured from Ukraine’s forces will be integrated into its military arsenal to support a variety of missions.
The “war trophy” in question is an M113 fully-tracked personnel carrier, a widely-used armored vehicle in the ongoing war due to large-scale deliveries from Western allies.
As of mid-2024, Ukraine had reportedly received over 400 M113s, with more than half of them coming from the US.
However, unlike other war trophies that are typically displayed for propaganda or set aside for reverse engineering, Moscow has decided to put the armored carrier into service to transport Russian military personnel.
🔵🇷🇺Rusya ele geçirdiği zırhlı araçları kullanmaya devam ediyor
🔸Rusya Savunma Bakanlığı, 🇺🇦Ukraynalı güçlerden ele geçirilen 🇺🇸ABD üretimi M113 ZPT’nin onarım faaliyetlerinin ardından kullanılmaya başlanacağını açıkladı pic.twitter.com/bPvQ8SG1Zu
— Defence Turk (@Defence_Turk) February 2, 2025
Overestimating?
Russia’s announcement could serve as a propaganda tool aimed at undermining its enemies by showcasing the use of captured Western-supplied equipment.
However, reports suggest that Moscow might be overestimating the value of its war trophies, potentially exaggerating their strategic significance.
The M113 captured from Ukrainian forces is believed to be over 70 years old, with its design dating back to the Vietnam War era.
The US military has already replaced these vehicles with next-generation models like the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle from BAE Systems.
An employee from the European defense firm KNDS also revealed that weapons and military equipment sent to Ukraine are stripped of sensitive technologies to prevent them from falling into enemy hands.
For example, in May 2023, the US reportedly removed sensitive components from Abrams main battle tanks before sending them to Ukraine. While not specified, these tanks are equipped with advanced computerized fire control systems, allowing gunners to engage targets more effectively.