Russia Flaunts NATO “Trophies” At Moscow Annual Army Expo

Russia is showing off some captured US and Western supplied hardware taken from the battlefield in Ukraine at the Moscow annual Army International Military-Technical Forum. Among these are items that appear in mint condition.

The forum, more commonly dubbed Army 2023, features Russia’s leading defense companies displaying their latest defense tech among some 1,500 total unique military items. This ranges from stealth jets, to battlefield medical equipment, to military grade earth-movers.

But this year for the first time Russia’s military showed off a large amount of seized “war trophies” — including captured and destroyed armored vehicles from NATO countries. 

Below, for example, is an American armored personnel carrier, seen in the foreground, and a British armored vehicle in the center.

The captured NATO vehicles had placards explaining their specs as if part of a museum display.

Additionally, a burnt out Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle captured from Ukrainian forces was on display in the vehicle exhibition. 

Bullet-riddled armored vehicle on which the Russians attached a UK and NATO flags…

Reuters captured the following details from the expo:

In the Moscow region’s Patriot Park, dedicated to the achievements of the Russian army, an officer wearing a green cap stood in front of a captured US MaxxPro armored vehicle. “It was abandoned on a battlefield because it stopped working,” the serviceman told Russian state-run agency TASS.

He then turned to a British Husky vehicle, whose windshield was riddled with what seemed to be bullet holes. Around him, more Western military equipment was on display, an opportunity for the Russian army to flaunt its achievements and mock the counteroffensive that Ukraine launched in June.

A few meters away, another Russian officer was showing off a French AMX-10 RC and its famously long anti-tank gun. The collection of “trophies” that AFP journalists saw Tuesday also included an Australian Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle, a US M113 personnel carrier and a Swedish CV90 combat vehicle.

#BREAKING #Russia #Moscow Video footage of western armored vehicles captured in Ukraine.
Video: RIA pic.twitter.com/eWNuWIqkd0

— National Independent (@NationalIndNews) August 15, 2023

Other captured Ukrainian equipment was also featured, including a border patrol boat, which appears largely undamaged and in good condition.

Recovered small arms from the US were also seen at the expo, and even things as large as a Turkish-made drone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had personally opened the expo with a speech, as is customary, and top military officials were seen inspecting the site, including Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. He told a group of military officials on Tuesday that “Ukraine’s military resources are almost exhausted.”

The defense expo is scheduled to run until August 20, and among the delegations sent by other countries are military leaders deemed “friendly” to Moscow and from countries which have not criticized the “special military operation” in Ukraine.

More photos from the Moscow army expo can be viewed here.