Russian army desperate for supplies as Belarus forced to ‘plug gaps’

Despite President Putin’s promise to swiftly seize Kyiv, the invasion of Ukraine has now dragged out for some eight months. The length of the war is having a critical impact on Russia’s military supplies as Moscow has struggled to provide frontline troops with appropriate weapons. Amid the Kremlin’s struggle to replenish its military arsenal, Vladimir Putin’s ally Alexander Lukashenko has been forced to send over a large fraction of Belarus’s tank fleet to ‘plug gaps’ in the Russian armed forces.In his analysis of the conflict in Ukraine, retired Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell reported that Lukashenko remained committed to supporting President Putin despite an apparent lack of support for the invasion among the population of Belarus.Speaking on Sky News, Mr Bell explained: ‘It looks like, at the moment, Belarus is going to simply support Russia. ‘They gave up 90 of their main battle tanks – Belarus does not have a lot of these – to plug gaps in the Russian military.’This shows the lamentable state of Russia’s military machine at the moment.’ Russia’s army is suffering from a crisis of military equipment (Image: GETTY) Retired Air Vice-Marshal Sean Bell reported Belarus had provided tanks to support Russia (Image: SKY NEWS)Intelligence reports have suggested the Russian military’s equipment crisis worsened after President Putin ordered the mobilisation of an additional 300,000 reserve troops.The UK Ministry of Defence reported: ‘Russia has deployed several thousand newly mobilised reservists to the front line in Ukraine since mid-October. In many cases, they are poorly equipped.’The report continued: ‘Open source images suggest that those rifles which have been issued to mobilised reservists are typically AKMs, a weapon first introduced in 1959. Many are likely in barely usable condition following poor storage.’In a separate report, the Ministry of Defence suggested Russian reservists are likely required to ‘purchase their own body armour’ as a consequence of ‘endemic corruption and poor logistics’ among Kremlin military leaders.Read more: Putin won’t stop until ‘he is fought until a standstill’ Lukashenko relied on President Putin to help dispel an uprising in Belarus earlier this year (Image: GETTY) Supply issues intensified after Putin ordered the mobilisation of an additional 300,000 troops (Image: GETTY)Lukashenko’s decision to sacrifice such a huge portion of Belarusian military equipment is likely the result of his need for an alliance with President Putin to maintain his own political authority.Mr Bell noted: ‘President Lukashenko is heavily reliant on President Putin for his power. Earlier on this year, Putin helped keep him in power when there was lots of unrest.’Russia has launched missile attacks on Ukraine from Belarus soil, but so far the Belarusian military has not got directly involved itself.’He added: ‘It is also evident that 90 percent of the Belarusian military have said they will not fight against Ukraine in that war.’Don’t miss: Putin’s wrath turning on UK amid Royal Navy swipe [REPORT]Russian missile lands in pro-NATO Moldova sparking WW3 fears [REVEAL]Republicans warned against cutting military aid to Ukraine [INSIGHT] Russian troops are provided with outdated and poorly maintained weapons (Image: GETTY)In addition to the general lack of support around the Russian invasion, the retired Vice Air-Marshal reported some Belarusian troops were actively fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.’We have had the story that the Kalinovsky regiment, hundreds of Belarusian soldiers, are active in Ukraine.’Interestingly, they are fighting for Ukraine, against Russia. The logic being that Lukashenko is not a very popular leader in Belarus. ‘If Putin was to fail with his ventures in Ukraine, Putin leaves and suddenly Lukashenko is desperately short of support.’Read next: Putin unleashes hell as bombs rain down on major Ukraine citiesDefence system could ‘change Ukraine war’ and devastate RussiaFood price threat after Putin ditches grain dealRussia adopts new double strategy as Putin struggles to ‘continue…..Lithuania prepares to fight off Russian attacks