Naiden Iliev has been researching ammunition for 28 years. For him, Ukraine's battle would have been difficult without support.
„Without foreign help, Ukraine will last a year, let's call it a maximum, before it becomes very difficult for it. The Russian army largely relies on its stocks of weapons from the Soviet era”, Iliev explained to NOVA NEWS.
„Actually, all the weapons that the Soviet army had went to the Russian one. No new general developments were made. The developments that are produced and offered as new are actually modernized Soviet ones. There was no qualitative development”, he is categorical.
The ammunition expert talks about the most powerful weapons that Ukraine has at its disposal in its fight against the Russian army: “The most effective weapon that the Ukrainian army had at its disposal at the beginning of the war was the “Haymars” system. The Russians were shocked by it, because this system – they have no analogues to this day. The second, which is a system that has performed very well on the battlefield, is the American armored personnel carrier “Bradley”, which in some cases has shown much greater vitality on the battlefield than the Soviet systems and armored vehicles that are in service with the Russian army.”
The armed forces of the Russian state also use special weapons.
“The strongest and most effective, I would say, is the “Lancet” system, which is a kamikaze drone, which inflicted serious losses on the Ukrainian army in terms of equipment. Then there is the UMPK – this is a module for controlling aerial bombs, with the help of which the aerial bomb turns into a guided weapon. This bomb weighs three tons, the explosive in it is 1400 kilograms. Any fortification is powerless against such a detonation”, Naiden Iliev said.
The decision of the American president to temporarily suspend aid to Ukraine will not lead to the collapse of Kiev on the battlefield, Naiden Iliev is categorical.
“The termination of aid will affect most of all, as far as weapons systems are concerned, the air defense – “Patriot”. These are the missiles that shoot down the Russian ballistic missiles ”Kinzhal”, cruise missiles too. This is “Haymars” – "a weapon that has extremely destructive power," the expert said.
However, Trump's actions raise the question - does Ukraine have an alternative to the suspended American aid?
„Europe has no analogues. Europe cannot produce the „Haymars” missile - it is produced by „Lockheed Martin”. Europe cannot produce missiles for „Patriot”, Europe cannot produce missiles for F-16, nor spare parts for F-16”, Iliev explained.
Tanks and armored vehicles also play a key role in the conflict between Kiev and Moscow.
„Russia has a serious deficit of armored vehicles. They can, according to some data, produce about 120-150 tanks per month. 120 or 150 tanks - this is destroyed in a week by FPV drones on the battlefield. American tanks are made much better. They have more serious armor and are significantly heavier. This effect, which is seen in Russian tanks - after detonation, the turret flies 200 meters up, is not observed there,” said Naiden Iliev.
Although according to the legislation in Russia and Ukraine, data on destroyed military equipment are classified as a state secret, there is information in the public domain about the damage to the two warring countries. The “Oryx” website lists every destroyed unit of armored vehicles, documented with its photograph and location. According to Iliev, the Russian army has lost nearly 12,000 tanks and armored vehicles, of which 3,800 are tanks. The Ukrainian army has lost 4,000 tanks and armored fighting vehicles, of which 1,100 are tanks.
More important than the technical damage are the human casualties. The ammunition expert believes that there is only one way to stop the war: “If the Russians consider entering Kiev a victory - that will not happen. If the Ukrainians consider winning back their territories - that will not happen either. The only possible situation is a ceasefire and some kind of truce along the battle line, the line of combat contact. Neither side has the resources to prevail.”