Putin's new 3rd Army Corps suffers setbacks due to weapons, months away from combat ready

Russia's newly drafted 3rd Army Corps of its Ground Forces, also labelled as Moscow's "most motivated infantry" with an estimated 15,500–60,000 personnel operating under the Western Military District, has suffered a setback in Ukraine, Kyiv claimed in its recent intelligence updates. Russian army's newest premier tank army grouping was being moved to frontlines via rail lines from Mulino, the village in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, where Moscow's last reserves were based before deployment to the months-long battle.

The newly-formed 3rd Army Corps was reinforced to Russian positions in Ukraine's occupied Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts. Ukraine's intelligence reveals that there are at least 5000 mercenaries from the Wagner/Liga private military company (PMC) that are deployed as stormtroopers.

Russia will take 3-4 months to train its armed forces: Ukraine 

As they now lack advanced weaponry and equipment, the new units are months away from being "combat ready," according to intelligence updates by Ukraine's Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT). The military equipment to train the 3rd Army Corps is being shipped from the Neklynivka railway station in Russia's Rostov region, situated near the border with Ukraine's Donetsk region. A representative of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, Vadym Skibitskyi, maintained that the lack of weaponry has obstructed Russia's ability to form and train the new Army corps to meet its special military operation goals. 

"The issue of establishment of the 3rd Army Corps will drag on until November," Vadym Skibitskyi said in televised remarks with the Ukrainian Military Television. He continued, that the equipment supply delay implies "three to four months" more for Russia to train its armed forces to be combat ready. In a separate statement to the Ukrainian publication Defense Express, Skibitskyi analysed that at least 40 percent of [Russia's] military equipment "is not combat-ready." "It needs to be repaired and put in order," he stressed.

The more advanced weapons were used by Russia during the ongoing military invasion in the month of February-March and the new Army units that are trained, have been using the "Soviet-style weapons."  

Wagner PMC. Credit: AP

Russia's president Vladimir Putin approved a decree to expand his armed forces to 137,000 by the beginning of next year, 2023. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (MoD), although, has been struggling to replenish the troop losses amid the dearth of volunteers that may be willing to enlist during the war. 

If Russian forces have brought out the last T-90 tanks, the T-80BV—latest modernization of the T-80 tank— this means the last Russian reserves are going into battle, military expert Zhdanov said in an analysis to the Ukrainian press. He revealed that these are the ‘courtier’ tank army that guards Moscow, which is seen in military parades on Red Square, St. Petersburg. "Volunteers of this corps are (of poor quality)," he said.