Putin shows off his toys: Buyers at arms convention treated to display of missiles, trucks and tanks

The Russian army today showed off missiles, mortar, tanks, and trucks at its annual arms convention outside Moscow after Putin bragged that his soldiers’ equipment was ‘decades’ ahead of Western armouries.

Kremlin chiefs have reportedly faced pushback from key buyers India and Egypt, who with China make up one-third of Russia’s £12.5billion arms sales, as Putin’s weaponry and tactics repeatedly fall short in Ukraine.

T-72 battle tanks, BMP K-17 armoured trucks and Tulpan self-propelled heavy mortar shells were all on show this afternoon at the Army-2022 expo in Patriot Park, Alabino, a suburb south west of Moscow.

Putin attended the convention’s opening on Monday, where he promised to arm allies with ‘the most modern weapons’ and boasted that Russia’s arsenal is ‘many years, if not decades’ ahead of his Western rivals.

Russian officials yesterday met with the commander of Palestine’s security forces to discuss further military and intelligence cooperation.

Israel’s historically close relationship with Russia, which houses up to 500,000 of the world’s 15 million Jews, has strained as Jerusalem continues to condemn the war in Ukraine – and the Kremlin’s unfounded allegation that leaders in Kyiv are ‘Nazis’.

Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin held talks with Major General Nidal Abu Dukhan of the Palestinian National Authority on the margins of a security conference held alongside Army-2022.

Russia has sought to maintain good relations with the Palestinians, supporting their drive for statehood while stopping short of steps it believes could threaten Moscow’s status as an intermediary between Palestine and Israel.

Russia has been keen to offer support to countries it considers allies in Latin America, Africa and Asia since its invasion, including through selling advanced weapons and military technology.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, the defense ministry said it held talks with the West African nation of Mali on strengthening its defense capabilities.

al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Mali claimed on Monday it had killed four mercenaries from Russia’s private military firm Wagner Group in an ambush around Bandiagara, in the centre of the country.

The claim comes days after Ukraine destroyed Wagner’s HQ in the Donbas using an America-gifted high-tech HIMARS missile.

Putin is thought to have sacked a top commander of the Black Sea Fleet amid a series of humiliating failures in occupied Crimea, long thought to be a safe zone for Russian soldiers and supplies.

The removal of the previous commander Igor Osipov marks the most prominent sacking of a military official in the nearly six months since Russia launched its war on Ukraine.

State-run outlet RIA said the new chief, Viktor Sokolov, was introduced to members of the fleet’s military council in the port of Sevastopol.

Putin vowed at the opening of Army-2022 two days ago: ‘[We] are ready to offer our allies the most modern types of weapons, from small arms to armored vehicles and artillery to combat aviation and unmanned aerial vehicles.

‘Almost all of them have been used more than once in real combat operations.

‘Many of them are years, if not decades, ahead of their foreign counterparts.

‘And in terms of tactical and technical characteristics they are significantly superior to them.’

The Kremlin leader claimed Russian soldiers in eastern Ukraine ‘are honorably fulfilling their duty’.

‘They are fighting for Russia’, he said, ‘[and] for a peaceful life in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Step by step, they liberate the Donbas.’

Western military analysts say the poor performance of Russian troops and weaponry could make its arms exports less attractive to potential buyers.

Allies such as India and Egypt have heavily relied on its technology in the past.

In July, Egypt bought 500 Russian T-90 tanks.

India has purchased more than 450 and Algeria has also bought T-90 tanks, making them the most advanced military vehicle found in Africa.

India, China and Egypt accounted for nearly two-thirds of Russian arms sales from 2017 to 2021, Bloomberg reported.

Its sluggish development of competitive drones, easily destroyed T-90 tanks, and missing-in-action T-14 Armata have sent worrying signals to all three partners.

Competitors Japan, South Korea, Turkey or some European countries could pose a threat to Russia’s arms industry as non-aggressors in frosty US-China relations.

The weeks-long sales exhibition runs until August 27.