As Syria Falls Under NATO Influence, Its Large Soviet Arsenals Could Soon Flow to Ukraine
"One significant likely consequence of the takeover of the country by paramilitary groups supported by NATO members is that its sizeable Soviet-, Russian- and North Korean-supplied arsenals could soon be transferred to support NATO’s key strategic partner Ukraine, which has suffered from
increasingly scarce supplies of compatible Soviet standard military equipment.
Having been a major client for Soviet military equipment since the 1950s, and maintained one of the largest tank forces in the world, the transfer of large parts of the Syrian inventory to Ukraine could provide a tremendous boost to the country’s fighting strength.
Syrian inventories have the potential to totally transform and tremendously expand the armoured warfare capabilities of
Ukraine’s conscript army, with the furnishing of over 3000 tanks being possible. After decades of T-72 acquisitions, Syria was delivered T-90 and modernised T-62M tanks as aid by Russia in the 2010s . The T-55 which forms the backbone of Syrian armoured divisions, although older, has been deployed by both Russia and Ukraine. Those in Syrian service have notably been more heavily modernised, and benefit from improved North Korean fire controls such as laser rangefinders. Overall the Syrian tank force is estimated at well over 4000 vehicles, including over 1000 each of the T-72 and T-62.
Alongside main battle tanks, Syrian artillery inventories, and perhaps most significantly as large arsenals of Soviet and North Korean ballistic missiles could be highly coveted by Turkey and Western Bloc states to equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Syrian MiG-29 and Su-24 fighter aircraft, too, are classes that currently form the backbone of the Ukrainian fleet, making the Syrian inventory ideal to replenish Ukraine’s losses. Syrian inventories of 152mm artillery rounds, firearms, and other equipment, could also provide key support to Ukraine’s war effort. "
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If this comes to pass it is somewhat of an important event, albeit late. almost two years ago the USG was going to countries in South America that were using Russian equipment and tried to offer a replacement deal where their arms would be sent to Ukraine and they would be resupplied with current US equipment. It is interesting that the media says Ukraine was a highly trained and capable army, and yet somehow early on in the conflict it was recognized that they didn't have adequate supplies. I remember seeing a CNN analysis on this at that time and they noted there were few takers. Found an article link about it:
US military officials are trying to persuade six countries with Russian-made equipment, including air defense and armored vehicles, to send it to Kyiv for American-made replacements
www.voanews.com
