Ukraine accused Russia of staging inflatable tanks near Zaporizhzhia in a Thursday Facebook post. But the Russian decoys unintentionally deflated, according to Ukrainian officials. Russia has been using deceptive warfare and weapons for decades, but its recent efforts have apparently failed.
Russia deployed “rubber” decoys, but they had deflated in an anticlimactic display. The Facebook post was accompanied by satellite images of that appear to show deflated Russian “tanks” lying flat on the ground.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a Thursday Facebook post said Russia’s army had run out of steam in the Zaporizhzhia region, where Russian troops have been incessantly firing on Ukrainian defenses in recent days, according to the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
“At the time when our partners are coordinating the supply of tanks to Ukraine, the invading army is also increasing the presence of ‘tank units’ in the Zaporizhzhia area,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote.
But, according to Ukrainian officials, Russia’s multiplying tanks are not what they seem.
“Apparently, the free air of the Cossack region is not suitable for the ‘rubber’ products of the occupiers, so they deflate without fulfilling their main mission. Just like the inflated bravado of the Russian army,” the agency said.
The art of deception has a long history. It dates back to World War II when the US used inflatable tanks to trick the opposition into overestimating the Allied forces’ military strength. It spread disinformation and the plan worked unbelievably well unlike the effort of Russian forces.
But evidently, it was not only Russia who had used these inflatable or dummy weaponry. Ukraine has also used fake wooden rocket launchers to lure Russia into using up its missiles. In this day and age, century-old methods are still being used to trick or mislead the enemy but with only limited degrees of success emerging from both sides.