Russia relies on 1950s era BTR‑50s as Ukrainian resistance persists

The Russians are using the BTR-50 transporter from the 1950s in the fights in Ukraine. This 70-year-old vehicle is – according to material published on the Forbes portal – an "ominous sign for Russia."

The Russians regularly showcase more "new" constructions in their arsenal. However, these are not always vehicles that have just left the factory. Often, they are simply modernizations of older vehicles – like the so-called turtle tank. Although previously it was a difficult target for Ukrainians, it eventually turned out to be a destructible object.

Sometimes, however, the Russian Federation reaches for ancient vehicles, which it pulls out from military warehouses and then sends to the front. This was the case, for example, with the recent transportation of several batches of T-62 tanks, which were spotted at the Kamensk-Uralsky railway station in Russia back in March. Today, there is much evidence confirming that the aggressor's army actively uses these constructions that are unsuitable for today's military industry standards.

Forbes notes that more vehicles have now appeared at the front, a bad sign for the Russian military. We are talking about the 70-year-old BTR-50 combat vehicles, which are "only slightly better than the golf carts some Russian troops ride in."

The armoured vehicle from the last century "might not be the worst vehicle the Russian army has sent in a direct assault on Ukrainian positions, but it’s probably the oldest," – we read. Forbes points out that, in reality, the BTR-50 is still a better solution for ensuring crew safety than the Chinese golf carts that appeared at the front, but the presence of old BTRs exposes the Russians' problems.

"Without mechanized units fully equipped with proper combat vehicles like tanks, achieving swift and decisive penetration of defenses will be very challenging," explains the Ukrainian analytical group Frontelligence Insight. This limitation is supposed to cause "slower and more limited advances, hampering the overall progress of Russian forces."

The BTR-50s appearing at the front are supposed to signify the problems with the Russian equipment. Additionally, units equipped with such vehicles are straightforward targets for Ukrainians.

Forbes also points out that the intensification of the use of these 70-year-old vehicles may indicate another problem for the Russians. Aid from the West for Ukraine is already on its way to the front, and therefore the Russian Federation may plan to seize another territory before the support for Ukraine arrives. To achieve this, the use of all weapons, including already outdated vehicles, is necessary.

Let us recall that the BTR-50 was based on the light tank PT-76. It is powered by a diesel engine with 240 horsepower, which, combined with a 400-liter (105-gallon) fuel tank, allows it to travel about 400 kilometers (250 miles) on a single refuel.

The maximum speed of the vehicle is 43 km/h (27 mph). The armament – like the armor – in the case of the BTR-50 is far from today's military standards. Defensive capabilities are provided by a 7.62 mm SGMB machine gun, while the armor is a maximum of 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) thick at the front and 10 millimeters (0.4 inches) on the sides. The minimum thickness is 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) on the sides.