PATRIOT PARK /Moscow Region/, August 15. /TASS/. Nothing on the battlefield today is invulnerable to Russian weapons and, in many cases, even Soviet-made military hardware has proven superior to Western equipment in terms of its combat qualities, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday at the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security.
"There is nothing on the battlefield at this point that is unique or invulnerable to Russian weapons," the defense chief said. "In many cases, even Soviet-made military equipment is superior in terms of its combat qualities to Western models."
According to him, the Russian Defense Ministry has objective monitoring data on the elimination of Western weapons. He added that Russia was ready to share its assessments with partner countries concerning identified weaknesses in Western military equipment.
Shoigu noted that the same situation prevails in the combat training of Kiev’s troops and the planning of Ukrainian military operations.
"According to previous statements by a number of high-ranking NATO officials, over 75,000 Ukrainian troops have undergone military training in line with Western standards," the Russian defense minister continued.
"Many of them were deployed to the frontline, were then taken prisoner and later revealed in detail all of the methods underlying NATO’s military training regime," Shoigu said, adding that the majority of captured Ukrainian troops made negative comments about the Western military training practices they had experienced firsthand.
Nevertheless, Russian military experts continue to study in detail all information gleaned on the content of the adversary’s military training programs. "The experience gained is also taken into account when developing training programs for foreign military specialists in our military educational institutions," Shoigu added.
The 11th Moscow Conference on International Security is running on the premises of the Army-2023 International Military-Technical Forum.
The Army-2023 International Military-Technical Forum is being held at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Center, the Alabino training ground and the Kubinka airfield outside Moscow on August 14-20. Over 60 countries have confirmed the participation of their official military delegations in the forum.
The forum’s scientific and business program features over 300 events focusing on the development of Russia’s armed forces and its defense industry and international military-technical cooperation, taking into account present-day realities. Access to the forum and events under the scientific and business program is reserved for industry specialists and foreign delegations on August 15-17. The event will be open to the general public on August 18-20. TASS is the forum’s strategic media partner.