Bulletproof lies: Russia's warzone gear leaves soldiers vulnerable
Russian soldiers often depend on weapon supplies from volunteers because their standard equipment usually includes only uniforms. However, it turns out that even these volunteer supplies are being stolen, and bulletproof vests that reach the front lines are incapable of stopping any bullets.
Russian soldiers are frequently used in suicidal charges against 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 or rely on assistance foundations, which are equally popular on the Ukrainian side.
The pervasive corruption in Russia means that what reaches Russian soldiers is often stolen. In the past, there have been instances, for example, of factory-made reactive armour tiles where the explosive material was replaced with 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Russian ballistics - outdated steel mixed with new ceramic solutions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 armour has been the 6B23 bulletproof vest, produced since the early 2000s. It consists of Kevlar and two steel plates or, less commonly, ceramic plates located only in its front part. The vest has a relatively small protection area and does not cover the entire lungs. A complete vest weighs about 10 kg (22 lbs).
The vest, along with ballistic plates, protects 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, for example, from 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 large ceramic inserts on both the front and back. The entire vest weighs about 8 kg (18 lbs). The inserts are based on the currently popular aluminum oxide, which is slowly being phased out in the West in favour of much more durable solutions based on boron carbide.
According to tests conducted by Oxide, the 6B45 vests with ceramic inserts are somewhere around the NIJ Class IV standard in terms of durability. 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. The situation is different with 7.62-caliber bullets with a tungsten core (M993 or similar) fired from, for example, an FN FAL, which penetrates through them.
