Russia Loses To China, Belarus In Its Own "War Olympics" Tank Race

Well, on the plus side, at least Russia beat Iran.  JL

Joseph Golder reports in Newsweek:

Russia, which has reportedly lost 45,550 personnel and 1,921 tanks in Ukraine, has landed third place behind China and Belarus during a tank relay race at its very own "War Olympics." The International Army Games are annual events organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. (Other competitors included) Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

Russia, which has reportedly lost 45,550 personnel and 1,921 tanks in Ukraine, has landed third place behind China and Belarus during a tank relay race at its very own "War Olympics."

The International Army Games are annual events organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense. This footage reportedly shows tanks from some of the nearly 40 participating countries in the off-the-wall "sports" event during a leg hosted at a training ground in Korla, a city in China's Xinjiang province.

The footage shows how the different teams are pitted against each other during a series of races and events, from August 13 to August 27.

Zenger News obtained a statement from the Russian defense ministry on August 21, saying: "In China, Russian motorized riflemen won bronze medals in the competition "Suvorov Onslaught." At the Korla training ground, the crews of infantry fighting vehicles completed the competition in the Suvorov Onslaught competition of the International Army Games 2022.

"The teams of China and Russia, Belarus, and Iran met in the final race. The Venezuelan team, following the results of the "Individual race" stage, did not reach the final.

"The result shown by the Russian motorized riflemen in the final stage of the competition secured the third place for the team. The first place in the competition was taken by the Chinese team, the team from Belarus won the silver, and the team from Iran took fourth place in the final rating.

Two tanks go through an obstacle course at the Korla training ground, China in undated footage. Russian crews of infantry fighting vehicles took 3rd place in Army International Games (ArMI-2022) tank relay race after teams of China and Belarus.@MIL/ZENGER

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"Three crews from each team participated in the final stage of the "Relay race," alternately performing on one combat vehicle for four laps of a competitive track nearly 7 miles long, overcoming 11 obstacles: a model of a rut bridge, a comb, two slopes, a ledge, a ford, a rut passage in a mine, an explosive barrier, a mound, two fire lanes and an anti-tank ditch with a passage, and also fired at various targets.

"The best time in the "Individual race" of the Russian team was shown by the BMP-3 crew consisting of commander Viktor Murach, gunner Semyon Kovalenko, and driver Nikita Prokopenko, who improved the result of last year by 1.5 minutes.

"At the end of the competition, the winners and prize-winners were awarded medals and memorable gifts, the winning team of the Challenge Cup.

Two tanks go through an obstacle course at the Korla training ground, China, in undated footage. The competition takes place between August 13-27.@MIL/ZENGER

The Russian statement had said ahead of the competition, on July 6: "The 2022 International Army Games will be held from August 13 to August 27. A total of 36 competitions are planned to be held. The ArMI-2022 competitions will be held on the territory of 12 states: Azerbaijan, Algeria, Armenia, Belarus, Venezuela, Vietnam, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, China, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

"For the first time, one of the game competitions will be held on the South American continent—"Sniper Frontier" is entrusted to Venezuela. Currently, 275 teams from 37 countries have confirmed their participation in the Army Games. Teams from Niger and Rwanda will take part in the games for the first time."

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported that between February 24, when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, and August 24, Moscow had lost about 45,700 personnel, 1,924 tanks, 4,243 armored combat vehicles, 1,036 artillery units, 266 multiple launch rocket systems, 147 air defense systems, 234 warplanes, 199 helicopters, 819 drones, 196 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,160 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 99 units of special equipment.

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.