August 9, 2024: Truck transport has always been a problem for Russian forces. Since World War II, trucks have been essential to provide supplies for major military operations, especially offensives. This was seen during the early stages of their invasion of Ukraine. This attack was launched into northern Ukraine in an attempt to capture the nearby capital Kyiv. The attack failed and Russian forces withdrew and moved to eastern Ukraine to resume the offensive. A major reason for the Russian defeat in northern Ukraine was the Ukrainians concentrating their attacks on Russian supply trucks. Without these, the Russian armored vehicles soon become immobile because of lack of fuel. Trucks also carried munitions and other supplies as well as troops and support personnel.

Since 2022 Ukraine has continued its war on Russian truck transport. Recently long-range Ukrainian UAV attacks into Russia hit three Russian truck manufacturing plants. Without trucks Russian forces cannot move, and if enough trucks are destroyed, Russian troops can’t survive in Ukraine and must withdraw.

The most potent weapons Ukraine received to oppose the Russian 2022 invasion armed its resourceful and determined Anti-Tank Teams that managed to destroy thousands of Russian armored vehicles and hundreds of trucks carrying supplies to the Russian forces. The Ukrainian war on Russian supply trucks continues. NATO supplies area-attack missiles to attack lots where Russian trucks are parked. Ukrainian partisans and civilians rarely miss an opportunity to sabotage Russian trucks. This can be done by putting water in the fuel tank which will damage or destroy the engine. Russian fuel trucks are a favorite target. A partisan disguised as a civilian can fire an RPG rocket at a fuel truck to cause a large explosion and loss of all the fuel on the truck. This occasionally happens as Russian trucks, including fuel trucks, roll through Russian-occupied Ukrainian towns or villages. Ukrainian forces distributed many RPG rocket launchers and rockets to civilians willing to take a covert shot at Russian trucks passing through. Elderly Ukrainian civilians often used these RPGs at night or whenever an opportunity presented itself. No one expects grandparents to be lurking in the shadows with RPGs. The Russians tried to retaliate by rounding up some random civilians and killing them, just like the Germans did during World War II. This proved counterproductive and the Russians concentrated on other methods for keeping their trucks out of harm’s way.

Ukrainian trucks operate among a friendly civilian population and are driven by Ukrainians. Russian owned and operated trucks are considered prime targets and Russia has lost so many of them in the last two years that they are now seizing all manner of civilian trucks including delivery vans and civilian ATVs (all-terrain vehicles). This hodgepodge of vehicles quickly turned into a logistical nightmare because they required so many different spare parts and types of tires. Within a year these vehicles were increasingly useless because there were no spare parts, especially replacement tires. Recent Ukrainian airstrikes on Russian truck manufacturing plants means fewer new trucks and that won’t change for a year as the plants are repaired. There is no guarantee that the Ukrainians won’t attack again.

NATO countries maintain truck fleets consisting of over half a million vehicles. The U.S. Army alone has over 230,000 trucks. Ukraine will never be without enough trucks as long as NATO nations are supplying them.

American allies always demand trucks along with other military supplies. Twenty years ago the Afghan army obtained over 5,000 Ford F 350 SORV/Severe Off Road Vehicle pickup trucks. These four wheel drive vehicles are based on Ford’s F-250/350 commercial pick up, which has been the bestselling line of pickup trucks in the U.S. since the 1980s. The Afghan army trucks were built at a Ford factory in Thailand. The SORV was provided in five variants, cargo, emergency response, personnel/tactical and personnel/command trucks, and maintenance van. The SORV truck comes with a diesel 300 horsepower engine. Costing about $40,000 each, the 4.5 ton vehicle can carry about two tons of personnel and cargo, and tow up to eight tons. It has a 144 liter fuel tank. Depending on the version, the SORV can seat up to eleven people. Afghans are accustomed to cramming as many people as they can into pickups and SUVs. The Afghans mounted weapons on some of the SORVs and gave these vehicles a workout that Ford engineers never imagined. The Afghans were also unable to properly maintain the trucks. There were many vehicle mechanics in Afghanistan but over the last twenty years many of them have fled the country with their families and skill at maintaining trucks. The current Taliban government in Afghanistan has to deal with a severe shortage of trucks. There are no railroads in Afghanistan and few navigable rivers. This means the current government’s armed forces are largely immobile. If they seize the trucks that Pakistani and Afghan entrepreneurs use to bring goods into the country, that source of supplies for landlocked Afghanistan will cease.

Many armed forces, especially those on a low budget, use commercial vehicles, particularly the Ford F-250/350. The Irish army uses SORVs for recon units. In Afghanistan, the Ford, and other pickups are very popular, especially if they are four-wheel drive. Equipping the Afghans with the SORVs, instead of hummers, meant the Afghans received familiar vehicles at less than half the price of the hummer. That worked until a new, Islamic fundamentalist government took control in 2021. Never underestimate the importance of trucks.