At some point they will be down to muskets or bows and arrows

A woman poses for a picture in front of a Russian T-55A tank during a military expo outside Moscow on August 23, 2020 Credit: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP

Hamish de Bretton-Gordon

01 September 2025

The Ukrainian intelligence service has reported the destruction of a Russian D-74 artillery piece on the battlefield. The destruction of a single howitzer on its own is fairly unremarkable against the scale of the fighting there until you realise that this gun was made in the 1950s and phased out by the Soviet Red Army in the 1970s. We can put this together with reports that, having lost more than 6000 tanks, Russia is once again fielding T-55s. The T-55 was a great tank but its design dates from the end of World War 2. I last saw one being blown to smithereens by a British Challenger 1 during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Quite apart from the one million casualties Russia has suffered – and two million more will be required to take the remaining 25 per cent of the Donbass, according to a recent British intelligence update – even the most fervent and optimistic supporter of the tyrannical Russian regime must realise its army is at its last gasp.

Some suggest that the ancient D-74, which fires 122mm shells, is being used because Russia is running out of more modern and powerful 152mm shells but can get plentiful supplies of 122mm from North Korea which also uses these ancient weapons.  Others surmise it is a further demonstration that Putin will keep fighting whatever the costs in equipment and human life. He knows that if he fails he is unlikely to enjoy a peaceful retirement.

Tanks at Russia’s Victory Day parade

Certainly Putin’s targeted strike on the British Council and European Union offices in Kyiv, in a cynical double tap attack, is a stiff two-fingers to the coalition of the willing. Sadly, the muted reaction from European capitals suggests he will get away with this unpunished and no doubt continue along similar lines as the Europeans pontificate about what to do next – not much, Putin hopes and probably expects. But he would find British tanks and soldiers rather more challenging opponents than defenceless schools and hospitals.

As a military person it is hugely frustrating that our political leaders are being led on such a merry dance by Putin and also to a certain degree by Trump. With vastly superior military forces at their disposal they should be calling the shots rather than the Kremlin.

What is absolutely clear is that Putin has no interest in a peace deal and has no respect for the UK and the EU, as the recent attacks show. Summoning Russian ambassadors for a stern telling off means nothing to Putin who exploits weakness – what is so frustrating is that we know he respects strength.

Trump’s mercurial negotiating skills seem to have actually hardened Putin’s stance even as his dwindling army has slowed to a halt in the Donbass and across the contact line. To use the American vernacular, now is the time to play hard ball. European armies are growing in strength and capabilities. Backed by US airpower and intelligence, which Trump is once again offering, they have the potential to change the reality on the ground in Ukraine.

At the very minimum, western air power and air defences should be used to protect civilian targets in Ukraine – these are supposedly protected by the Geneva Conventions anyway. Meanwhile on the battlefield Putin is clearly not far from running out of equipment altogether, as he is being forced to dust off ancient T-55s and D-74s. He is also running short of men. If the West stands firm behind Ukraine it cannot be long until the dictator is forced to negotiate.

The Russian army looks as if it has nearly culminated with artillery and tanks from the 1950s on the battlefield – now is the time for Trump and European leaders to get Putin to the peace negotiating table.