Pentagon ‘Takes Into Account’ Risk of Its Weapons Ending Up in Russia's Trophy Display

The exhibition of Western weapons and equipment seized by Russian forces during the special military operation on Moscow's Poklonnaya Hill has been a humiliating eyesore for NATO countries that have pumped Ukraine with their best military hardware as part of the grueling proxy war.

The Pentagon always “takes into account” that military equipment the United States transfers to its “foreign partners,” including Ukraine, is at risk of being captured, Press Secretary Pat Ryder said at a press briefing on Monday.

The media wanted to know the Pentagon’s reaction to the exhibition of Western and Ukrainian arms seized by Russian forces during the special military operation underway in Moscow's Victory Park on Poklonnaya Hill.

The Pentagon press secretary was asked if there was a “sense at DoD that there's some technology that has been compromised by the capture and dismantlement” of the military equipment.

“Certainly, that's something that we always take into account whenever we're providing capabilities to foreign partners. But I don't have any intelligence or specifics,” was the brief answer from Ryder.

After a journalist implied that US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin might be grilled by lawmakers on the issue during discussions of the fiscal 2025 DoD Budget Request on Wednesday, Ryder curtly responded, “Yes, again, I'm not – I'm not tracking any concerns.”

‘Keep sending more weapons and we’ll keep hammering them’: Ordinary Russians react to captured Western military hardware

Sputnik spoke to attendees at Moscow’s trophy weapons exhibition, and asked them whether they had any message for Western governments and taxpayers. Here’s… pic.twitter.com/HegUp8fxB7

— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) May 3, 2024

The NATO trophy weapons exhibition has been a huge hit with visitors to the Moscow park. The choice of venue was not accidental – Victory Park at Poklonnaya Hill is a memorial complex dedicated to the USSR’s victory over Nazi Germany in the Great Patriotic War.

The exhibit features 31 pieces of captured military equipment from 12 countries, including a German Leopard 2A6 tank and Marder infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), as well as US M113 personnel carrier and M1 Abrams tank. Some of the equipment has been restored to working or semi-working condition. Visitors can get information on the equipment’s technical and tactical characteristics, as well as the location and circumstances in which they fell into Russian troops’ hands from on-site information stands.

NATO countries have sent tens of billions of dollars’ worth of some of their best military hardware to Ukraine to fuel the ongoing proxy war against Russia. However, as the display clearly demonstrates, Russia's military is quite capable of grinding through all this prized Western hardware.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov highlighted the importance of the open-air display, noting that Russians “should see the defeated vehicles."