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A Russian bus seen on the front lines of Donetsk has highlighted the lengths to which the military has gone due to dwindling supplies. Various civilian vehicles, including Chinese-made golf carts, Belarusian motorcycles, and Lada compact cars, have become makeshift means of transport as the available stock of armored fighting vehicles (AFVs) decreases.
One of the more unusual vehicles currently reported on the battlefield is a repurposed school bus. Just before or on Sunday, a Ukrainian drone operator identified a yellow school bus stationed near the conflict zone in Donetsk Oblast, which has experienced intense fighting.
It remains unclear whether the bus had simply broken down or had become trapped in the soft terrain typical of the region during spring. Regardless, the vehicle was struck by at least one drone equipped with explosives, incinerating it.
Utilizing a bus in combat scenarios presents significant challenges. Analyst Jakub Janovksy remarked, “Civilian vehicles are indeed preferable to foot travel, but they inherently lack both protective features and firepower.” This could lead to increased casualties and higher failure rates in military operations. Such vehicles are typically ill-equipped to navigate obstacles like trenches or barbed wire.
Challenges of Vehicle Shortages
Faced with critical shortages, Russian forces find themselves with limited options. According to verified reports, Russia has lost approximately 17,000 vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment since the conflict escalated, a figure that surpasses the total inventories of many global armies and exceeds the production capacity of Russia’s arms industry under current sanctions. Estimates suggest production of new tanks and infantry fighting vehicles may hover around 1,100 annually.
The Kremlin has resorted to supplementing its assets with Cold War-era vehicles sourced from extensive storage facilities. However, these stores are also running low, and much of what remains is reportedly in poor condition, as noted by Janovksy.
The emergence of golf carts, scooters, and ordinary cars as battlefield replacements underscores the dire situation, including the war bus.
This bus is not the first civilian vehicle drafted into military service. In previous conflicts, such as those involving the Islamic State and the Kurdish Peshmerga, modified civilian vehicles were also employed. However, a notable distinction is that those vehicles often featured additional armor for enhanced protection against assaults.
While some improvements have been noted in the Russian repurposing of civilian vehicles for military use, no evidence suggests the Donetsk bus received any such fortifications. The urgency of the situation may have hampered timely upgrades, or available resources might have been insufficient for outfitting the larger vehicle.
The Russian bus, now abandoned and defenseless against the ongoing threat of drones omnipresent in the skies, represents both the resourcefulness and the vulnerabilities of military forces under duress.
Source
www.forbes.com