How cheap decoy weapons are made in Ukraine for Russians to destroy with expensive real ones
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The Ukrainian Armed Forces has turned to Metinvest to produce fake decoy weapons to mislead the Russians, Oleksandr Myronenko, operational director of the metallurgical enterprises holding company, told Radio NV on Oct. 27, adding that the production has been going on for more than a year.
"The first copies weren’t very successful, but then, together with the military, we perfected each variant and each copy of a given fake weapon. And currently they look very similar to the originals. And they work very well, according to the feedback we get from the military."
A key indicator of the effectiveness of such mock-ups made of wood and plastic is the high cost of Russian ammunition used against them.
"Currently, our main products include Soviet-era D-20 and D-30 howitzers, and U.S. M777 howitzers, as well as several types of radar stations and radio electronic warfare equipment. We had several requests for the production of HIMARS (multiple launch rocket systems). We made several copies, and they’re also working now," Myronenko said, noting that they can “even move and change positions”.
"All our employees are quite patriotic. And any request we receive from the military (this applies not only to mock-ups, but also to other things) is fulfilled with great enthusiasm and great pleasure by our workers. Therefore, we mostly need the request what the military needs, a drawing how to do it, and the materials from which it must be made. And after that, our people do it with great pleasure. And all this is transferred to our military, for free."
The production is done outside the Metinvest companies by vetted and very patriotic people who are completely rusted, “they won’t leak anything"
"We don’t tell where we transfer certain mock-ups, to whom we transfer, on which areas they are used. We also don’t tell where and at what locations this production takes place. We try to observe the regime of maximum secrecy not to give the enemy any information about these production lines," Myronenko said.
In September 2023, CNN reported that hundreds of "weapons" destroyed by Russia in Ukraine were fakes.
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