European used truck markets have become a goldmine for the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Ukrainian volunteers are scouring European used car markets in search of vehicles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, writes the European version of Politico.
The reason is that Kyiv's all-out defensive war against Russia is forcing Ukrainian soldiers to rely less on heavy armored vehicles and more on civilian pickup trucks.
“And the trucks they prefer tend to be tough vehicles like the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara (which ceased European production in 2021) and especially the Mitsubishi L200, also discontinued four years ago,” the publication says.
"I would say that the L200 is the best of all, objectively, despite the gloomy 200 in its name," the publication quotes Andrei Ivanov, commander of the Zloy Sapsan unmanned systems battalion. "Despite the name, this vehicle has saved many lives," Ivanov said.
In contrast, American trucks require parts that may be difficult for Ukrainian workshops to obtain, making them much less popular with troops.
“We once had to wait 30 days just to get one important bolt to Ukraine. The U.S. is so far away,” said Ruslan Andriuk, executive director of Nesemos Veteran Auto Hub, an organization that hires military veterans to repair vehicles destined for troops on the front lines.
The use of non-military trucks is becoming a hallmark of the current war, the publication notes.
"Cars are everything! They are how you deliver weapons to positions; they are how you evacuate the wounded from encirclement. Mobile air defense units use civilian pickup trucks when pursuing Russian drones," Andryuk said.
"You can carry up to 10 people, depending on the model of the pickup. And they are much easier to repair. They are lighter than armored vehicles and easier to evacuate from in the event of an attack," he added.
Russia has a similar policy, with its troops often relying on private cars and even motorcycles to move quickly along the front lines while avoiding clouds of Ukrainian drones that quickly close in on tanks and armored personnel carriers.
During the first two years of the war, Ukraine imported more than 100,000 mostly used vehicles for soldiers, forcing the government to cut red tape for registering the vehicles and classify them as humanitarian aid, the report says.
"At the moment it's mainly the UK, maybe Norway. In the first months of 2022, we emptied all the used car markets in Poland," said Maria Ksondzik, CEO of Nesemos. "But it's better to hunt for these trucks among farmers in the UK."
In addition to imports, since February 2022, Ukrainians have donated more than 3,000 vehicles to the Ukrainian Armed Forces , according to Mykola Rudyk, head of the main service center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Donald Trump may want Europeans to buy more American cars and trucks, but there is one market where buyers are far more interested in Asian imports: the front lines in Ukraine, the publication concludes.
European used truck markets have become a goldmine for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.