Russian soldiers' gear: Stolen supplies, ineffective vests, and WWII relics
Russian soldiers often rely on weapon supplies from volunteers because their standard equipment typically includes only uniforms. However, even volunteer supplies are being stolen, and bulletproof vests that reach the front are incapable of stopping any bullets.
10:03 AM EDT, July 8, 2024
Russian soldiers are frequently used for suicidal charges on Ukrainian positions solely to activate Ukrainian defensive positions, which are subsequently targeted by, for example, FAB family aerial bombs. For this reason, personal equipment is minimal, often based on old items that date back to World War II. Russians must purchase appropriate equipment themselves or rely on assistance foundations, which are equally popular on the Ukrainian side.
The ubiquitous corruption in Russia means that what reaches Russian soldiers is often stolen. There have been instances, for example, of factory-made reactive armor tiles with explosive material replaced by rubber. In the video below, you can see bulletproof vests with pieces of wood instead of ballistic plates.
Russian ballistics - outdated steel mixed with new ceramic solutions
The most popular armor has been the 6b23 bulletproof vest produced since the early 2000s, consisting of Kevlar and two steel plates or, less commonly, ceramic plates located only in its front part. They have a relatively small protection area and do not, for instance, cover the entire lungs. A complete vest weighs about 22 lbs.
The vest, along with ballistic plates, provides protection against bullets fired from AK-47/74 rifles and the SWD sniper rifle, excluding anti-tank bullets containing a tungsten core.
Translating this into NATO ammunition, it means that this type of vest with steel plates can stop 5.56-caliber bullets fired from, for example, M4A1 rifles or the Grot or standard 7.62-caliber bullets with lead and potentially steel cores fired from M14 or FN FAL rifles. On the other hand, anything with a tungsten core will pass right through them without any problems.
The situation is somewhat better with the 6B45 vests introduced into service in 2015, heavily inspired by Western solutions. Here we have a Kevlar vest with a pair of large ceramic inserts on both the front and back. The entire vest weighs about 18 lbs. The inserts are based on the currently popular aluminum oxide, which is slowly being phased out in the West in favor of much more durable solutions based on boron carbide.
In terms of durability, the 6B45 vests with ceramic inserts are, according to tests conducted by Oxide, somewhere around the NIJ Class IV standard. The Russian plate can withstand 5.56-caliber bullets with a tungsten core and 7.62-caliber or .30-06 bullets with a steel core. However, 7.62-caliber bullets with a tungsten core (M993 or similar) fired from, for example, an FN FAL, penetrate them.
