Russia's Defense Industry Strips Fridges for 'Spare Parts': UK Official

The war in Ukraine has resulted in Russia's military being reduced to relying on equipment scavenged from used refrigerators, according to a top U.K. official.

James Kariuki, the United Kingdom's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said during a U.N. Security Council meeting in New York on Monday that Moscow's military had been "set back 18 years" after nearly two years of war.

Kariuki condemned Russia for obtaining weapons and equipment from countries like North Korea and Iran while dismissing Russia's claim of "protecting the rights of Russian-speakers in Ukraine."

"Russian military modernization has been set back 18 years," Kariuki said. "Now Russia's defense industry strips down fridges for parts...And for what? To lose more than half of the land it seized since February 2022 and a fifth of its Black Sea Fleet?"

"This war benefits no one, not Russians, and certainly not Ukrainians," he added. "The only threat to any civilian in Ukraine continues to come from Russia."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for comment on Tuesday.

It is unclear what equipment Kariuki was claiming Russia makes using scavenged parts from refrigerators. Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the claim.

The Russian defense industry significantly increased its production of weapons and equipment last year, despite international sanctions that have made production more difficult since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.

A report published by Russian state news agency Tass claims that over 2,200 armored combat vehicles, 1,400 rocket and artillery vehicles, 1,400 armored vehicles and over 10,600 automobile vehicles were produced in 2023.

Moscow has been bolstering its arsenal with the help of Iranian "Shahed" kamikaze drones and components from Iran, as well as what are believed to be shipments of ballistic missiles and artillery shells from North Korea.

However, as the war drags on, Vladimir Putin's army has also been losing equipment and personnel at a dizzying pace.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Monday that Russia had suffered 2,340 troop deaths and the loss of 21 tanks, 34 armored vehicles and 28 artillery systems since Saturday alone.

At the same U.N. Security Council meeting where Kariuki spoke on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the U.S. of sending the Ukrainian military "old junk" weapons during the war.

Out of $68 billion in military aid that the U.S. has sent to Ukraine, almost 90 percent has been returned to the U.S. defense industry to build new weapons or replace ones sent to Ukraine from American stockpiles, according to a report published by The Washington Post in November.

During Monday's meeting, Lavrov reportedly claimed that the primary goal of U.S. aid to Ukraine was to update its own arsenal while "old ancient junk is being used in Ukraine," arguing that the American government was treating the war "as a profitable business project."