Australia’s top-notch Bushmaster military vehicles are proving to be a priceless asset to Ukraine’s defense forces as the country resists Russia’s unrelenting and brutal assault.
Along with their smaller relatives, the Hawkei patrol vehicles, which are also produced in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, the highly armored troop carriers are being used on the front lines along the southern and eastern borders of Ukraine.
The burnt-out shells of two Bushmasters were recently seen being dragged off the battlefield in a picture shared to the Russian social networking site VK. Thanks to their heavy armor plate, the vehicles were virtually unharmed.
destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces Bushmaster PMV armored vehicles in the Kharkiv area. These came from Australia and were provided to the APU, the caption states.
Nearly 9,582 square kilometers of land have been reclaimed by Ukrainian defenses in recent months, mostly to the south and east of Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city.
According to a recent US Center for Strategic and International Studies analysis, the well-planned Ukrainian counteroffensive demonstrated “excellent combined arms operations, military innovation, information collecting, and denial and deception techniques.”
The paper notes that the Russian army still faces challenges such as “low morale, poor execution of combined weapons, corruption, and an inability to gain air dominance.”
One of the most important weapons used by Ukrainian soldiers in the struggle to retake the area surrounding Kharkiv was the bushmaster.
A squad of six Ukrainian troops shared an image of themselves in front of a Bushmaster last month while discussing how the vehicles aided their remarkably successful counterattack.
“Bushmaster,” a deadly Amazonian snake that our warriors managed to tame before it stung the enemy terribly, cruelly, and unexpectedly. Thank you to our Australian wizards for providing the user guide, the Defense of Ukraine said on Twitter.
The Ukrainian Airborne Forces deploy the armored personnel carrier to reach advanced operational zones, according to a soldier who spoke English.
We are appreciative that Australia’s people and government have given this to us.
They really aided us in freeing the neighborhoods in and around Kharkiv. Together, we’re striving towards success.
The vehicles “did excellently in genuine combat scenarios,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated in a speech to the Lowy Institute earlier this month.
The more arms and ammunition we get, the more accountable Russia will feel for breaking international law. This month, Zelenskyy spoke with the Lowy Institute.
He predicted that the aggressor would feel limited in his ability to escalate the situation.
Only 40 of Australia’s 60 Bushmaster PMVs (Protected Mobility Vehicles), each of which may cost up to $2.45 million depending on the model, have been delivered to Ukraine.
The Bushmasters are produced by military contractor Thales at their facility in Bendigo, Victoria. They are used to deploy soldiers into and later remove them from combat situations and are effective in harsh environments like deserts or mountains with subzero temperatures.
They were the first military combat vehicle wholly created and constructed in Australia since the 1940s as a result of a 1991 Defence Force Structure Review that recognized the Australian Army’s requirement for an Infantry Mobility Vehicle.
According to reports, the federal government is contemplating purchasing up to several hundred new Bushmasters to replace those shipped to the Ukraine and support the local town’s economy.
They are now used by the armed forces of Ukraine, the Netherlands, Japan, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Jamaica, and New Zealand. They have participated in battles in Afghanistan, Iraq, and East Timor.
It is known as a “mine protected vehicle” because of its thick armoured steel shell, which is shaped like a V to deflect explosions and debris to the side. It can resist IEDs, Claymore mines, and reputedly a 9.5kg TNT blast.
Even though the vehicles weigh a substantial 13 tonnes without a mounted turret, their 300 horsepower Caterpillar engine can propel them at speeds of more than 100 km/h.
Additionally, it includes a central tyre inflation mechanism that enables it to run even with punctures and can carry enough gasoline and food to last three days without replenishment.
The assault pioneer, air defense, direct fire weapons, general maintenance, and ambulance variations are just a few of the models that Thales produces.
The crew compartment in each iteration is air-conditioned and shielded from armour-piercing ballistic bullets. This was one of the qualities that Ukrainian soldier and Bushmaster driver Vitaly cited as one of his favorites in June.
It’s really pleasant, to start. Air conditioning is present. It resembles a mobile home. If I had chosen to dwell within, He admitted to The Sydney Morning Herald that he stays there constantly.
Australia has been requested to provide Ukraine with 30 more of the vehicles, bringing the total number of vehicles pledged since the conflict’s start to 90, as well as 30 of the weakly armored Hawkei four-wheel drives, which are also made by Thales in Bendigo.
The proposal was made in September at a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries that took place in New York on the fringes of the UN General Assembly.
Senator Wong said that she had voiced Australia’s support for Ukraine and awe at the bravery and selflessness Ukrainians had shown.
In battalions of 30, 90 would be three separate battalions, according to Ukrainian envoy Vasyl Myroshnychenko, who spoke to the ABC.
Richard Marles, the defence minister, has stated he is taking the request into consideration but has not yet authorized a second shipment.
Australia also committed to provide 28 M113AS4 armored personnel carriers in addition to the Bushmasters, but the government has not acknowledged how many have actually arrived, and six howitzers.
Along with the nearly $400 million in military assistance, other items given to the European country include medical supplies, drones, tank decoys, and ammunition.
In addition to military hardware, the Ukrainian president requested that Australia contribute all it could to a diplomatic campaign to persuade as many countries as possible to denounce Russia’s activities.
As Russia, a “terrorist state,” launched a barrage of deadly missile strikes, Moscow stoked fears of further retaliation by threatening additional, “severe” attacks. Ukraine vowed Monday that it would not be intimidated.
In retaliation for an explosion over the weekend that destroyed a crucial bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow has annexed, the most intense bombardment of Ukraine in months resulted in 11 fatalities and more than 80 injuries.
“Ukraine is invulnerable.” It can only become more cohesive. Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, declared in a defiant video that “Ukraine cannot be stopped” and vowed to make the “battlefield even more painful” for Russian troops.
According to Kyiv, Russian forces launched more than 80 missiles on Ukrainian cities, including the capital, and also used Iranian drones that were launched from Belarus, a neighboring country, to cause panic and damage energy facilities.
According to reports, Ambassador Myroshnychenko is pressuring mining behemoths Rio Tinto and BHP to invest in mineral extraction and processing in Ukraine after the war.
The West Australian was informed by Mr. Myroshnychenko that an excessive reliance on Chinese mineral processing was unsustainable.
“It’s better to spread the risks out and move your production somewhere else,” he advised. “Ukraine is a good place for that.”
“We believe that investing in mineral extraction is a win-win situation for international business.”