- Russian soldiers received sabotal drone helmets that exploded when they were on.
- The helmets were provided by humanitarian aid, according to the Russian state media.
- The incident highlights risks in military supply chains and equipment funded by Crowdfund.
Russian soldiers received a lot of sabotal drone helmets that have been changed to explode when they were on, according to Russian media.
Igor Potapov, a spokesperson for Russian manufacturer JSC NPP, told the TASS-controlled news agency that an individual had donated glasses as a humanitarian aid.
“When the glasses were on, they exploded and exploded,” said Potapov.
Tass did not specify if there had been injuries or deaths.
According to Potapov, glasses were Skyzone Cobra X V4 helmets, used to provide a visual when checking drones of view in the first person. He added that when the army opened the lot, “they found plastic explosives in all the products”.
Business Insider could not independently check the report.
Skyzone provides companies in several countries, including Russia and Ukraine, but does not enumerate JSC NPP among its distributors.
None of the two companies immediately responded to the request for comments from Business Insider.
Ukraine’s defense intelligence has not claimed the responsibility of the reported sabotage.
HANDLOOK QUALITY FPV drones are used by thousands of people by Ukraine and Russia, for everything, surveillance and recognition, to target stains and transport explosives.
The Pro-Russian telegram channel Razved Dozor Shared Images which claims to be helmets always in their boxes, as well as dismantled videos.
He said the glasses contained between 10 and 15 grams of plastic explosives and that the boxes showed signs of falsification.
The chain added that it was one of the many cases of plots to use involuntary volunteers to sabotage Russian soldiers. BI could not verify the complaint.
Matthew Ford, an expert in war and lecturer in international relations at the British University of Sussex, compared Russian reports to the attack of Israel against Hezbollah in Lebanon using explosive remote televersors last September.
This incident required months of planning and infiltration in the Hezbollah supply chain.
In this case, the helmets were supplied via an individual donor, probably bypassing the official channels.
The Russian and Ukrainian units turned to crowdfunding to obtain basic equipment, in what Ford calls “participatory war” – the idea that anyone can participate in the war effort.
At the time of publication, a Cobra X V4 was available for purchase on Amazon for $ 324.
The threat of this less orthodox supply chain adds new headache for the military, who will have to add a new level of control, said Ford.
“It’s the target, I suppose,” he said.
JSC NPP, which is sanctioned by the United Kingdom and the EU, develops and provides electronic war equipment to Russian forces in Ukraine, according to TASS.
Potapov warned individuals to be vigilant when they deal with new donors to the Russian armed forces.
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