Posted on 03/05/2022 11:35:44 AM PST by TigerLikesRoosterNew
How cheap Chinese tires might explain Russia's 'stalled' 40-mile-long military convoy in Ukraine
MARCH 3, 2022
PETER WEBER
As the eighth day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine began Thursday morning, Russian forces appeared to have gained tactical control of their first city, the southern port city of Kherson, but Ukraine is still holding out in Mariupol, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv, despite heavy shelling. Deaths are mounting on both sides.
Big explosions were heard in Kyiv overnight, but according to the British Defense Ministry's Thursday morning update, the main body of the 40-mile-long Russian military convoy advancing on the capital remains nearly 20 miles from the city center, "having been delayed by staunch Ukrainian resistance, mechanical breakdown, and congestion. The column has made little discernible progress in over three days."
/snip
Trent Telenko, a retired Pentagon staff specialist and military history blogger, suggests another big reason may be Russia's tires, as he explained in a long, illustrated Twitter thread based on photos of deserted Russian Pantsir-S1 wheeled gun-missile systems and his own experience as a U.S. Army vehicle auditor. "When you leave military truck tires in one place for months on end," the sidewalls get brittle in the sun and fail like the tires on the Pantsir-SR, he wrote. "No one exercised that vehicle for one year."
Karl Muth, an economist, government adviser, and self-described "tire expert," jumped in, agreeing with Telenko but adding some details about the tires.
Karl T. Muth @KarlMuthReplying to @Noahpinion
Bit of a tire expert here. Those aren't Soviet-era heavy truck radials. Chinese military tires, and I believe specifically the Yellow Sea YS20. This is a tire I first encountered in Somalia and Sudan; it's a bad Chinese copy of the excellent Michelin XZL military tire design.
(Excerpt) Read more at theweek.com ...
Russians and chinese both get black eyes.
Don’t those tires come with a 50,000-mile warranty?
Great article 👍
“Might”. Based on one photo of one vehicle.
Yep. The invaders are losing $15 million air defense systems because of cheap knockoff chicom tires and lazy maintenance.
Saw some flat ones. Air inflated? Aren’t ours 100% rubber?
Xi needs something to shift his focus.
Worst thing to do. Let vehicles just sit. Much better to wear them out than just sit. All kinds of problems.
I heard an early report over a week ago now that the forces coming down from the north are largely from Belarus and that those forces were not battle ready like forces from Russia proper. That might explain morale, readiness, and maintenance issues.
Do you mean Chinese tires could be the chink in Putin’s army?
Sources on Telegram and Twitter are saying that many of these vehicles have dry rotted brake lines and so forth from no maintenance.
*side note: China is watching very closely because many of the weapons Ukraine has been given have also been given to Taiwan. They now know that any invasion fleet crossing the Strait will be destroyed.
Given the long border and historical face-off between China and Russia, bad tires derailing Russia’s military vehicles might have been a planned feature. Astounding that Russia wouldn’t have tested the vehicles every now and then.
They are just assembling them according to quality control set by Apple. Electronic components for them are usually imported from outside.
Their knock-off copy of Russian war planes are not doing well either.
We use Pirellis. Dago through mud, dago through snow, and when dago flat, dago “wop, wop, wop.” /Lightfoot.
Might be the tires. Or it might be the bridge ahead of them that blown.
IF ONLY Putin had ponied up for Michelins. Well, maybe next time Vladimir.
Un, nope.
The components are made in China too for the most part. The Chinese ARE making the iphones and have been doing so for a long time.
Partly explains Apple's super high, insane profits.
If you think Chinese tires are bad, you should get a look at their handcuffs.
“’stalled’ 40-mile-long military convoy in Ukraine “
Are they really stalled, or are they building up and positioning? I guess it depends on who you ask.
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