AFU Found Fuses With The Coat Of Arms Of The Third Reich In A Russian Military Warehouse
- 18.09.2025, 11:46
What are they for?
The intelligence unit of the 225th separate assault battalion of the AFU reported that it found German fuses from World War II at a Russian ammunition depot. However, military observers doubt they can be used, The Agency wrote.
The telegram channel of the 225th separate assault battalion of the AFU published three photos with fuses that show markings with the coat of arms of Nazi Germany (an eagle with a swastika).
The post explains the possible origin of these components: The Soviet Union received military equipment, machine tools and technology, and raw materials (including fuses for projectiles marked with the swastika) under agreements with Germany signed in 1939 and 1940. "Some of the fuses from those times have been preserved in Russian warehouses," the Ukrainian military claimed.
The post by the 225th Independent Assault Battalion did not specify where the old German fuses were found. In June, this unit was involved in battles in the northern Sumy region.
The photo shows German fuses Kl. Az. 23 umg from World War II, the Ukrainian military publication Defense Express wrote.
"If you look more closely, you can see the WaA branding on them with a code and an eagle with a swastika. This branding was put by inspectors of the Waffenamt - the armament department of the land forces of Nazi Germany (from where the abbreviation WaA originated) after passing quality control of a batch of weapons or ammunition," the publication writes.
The fuses were intended for 75-millimeter Sprenggranate 34 fragmentation projectiles for 75-mm towed anti-tank guns PaK 40 and tank guns KwK 40, according to Defense Express. According to the publication's assessment, it is more likely that the fuses were captured by the Soviet army during battles with the Wehrmacht, rather than delivered to the USSR before the war, and have been stored in warehouses since then.
Russia has been sending old military equipment to the war in Ukraine for years to make up for huge losses in modern weapons. In particular, T-62 tanks (began production in the 1960s) and M-46 howitzers of the 1950s model were sent to the front. However, in the case of fuses, the potential for using old weapons is not so obvious.
Defense Express doubts that the fuses discovered by Ukrainian intelligence can be used effectively now, including because of false positives. In addition, they are hardly suitable for the types of ammunition in service with the Russian army. In particular, they cannot be used for dropping homemade ammunition, since the rotation and centrifugal force created when firing a rifled cannon are required to bring these fuzes into the firing position.
It is unclear how the Russian military could use the fuzes, a representative of the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) research group confirmed to "The Agency."
"Setting [the fuses] in the combat position can only be achieved by firing a rifled cannon, you can't do it by dropping it," the CIT expert said.
In the meantime, both warring sides accuse each other of using fascist ideology. In their statements, Russian officials often refer to tattoos and flags with Nazi or Nazi-like symbols on Ukrainian military personnel.