July 20, 2024: Russia continues to threaten NATO with nuclear and conventional retribution for their aid to Ukraine. Russia is particularly angry at proposals by some NATO members to send in troops. This threat is particularly upsetting because Russia is running out of soldiers and weapons to arm them with. The shortage of soldiers is visible to countries that border Russia and can actually see the departure of most troops from local units. The soldiers are needed in Ukraine and many border garrisons have only twenty percent of their original strength left.

In Ukraine there is additional evidence of Russian shortages as dead Russian soldiers are found alongside their 1890s vintage Mosin-Nagant rifles. Since over 39 million of these rifles were produced between 1891 and 1973, millions of them are still in use and many are being issued to Russian soldiers sent to Ukraine. Russia has run out of more modern weapons but still has millions of Mosin-Nagants in storage. Ukrainian forces have been seeing a lot of serviceable but antique Russian weapons showing up including sixty year old T-64 tanks that were in storage. Russia refurbished many of these tanks and sent them to Ukraine along with the Mosin-Nagant rifles and even uniforms that went out of fashion decades ago, but were put into storage just in case. For Russia, the Ukraine War became that case when its reserve stocks of older Russian tanks, rifles and uniforms had to be brought out and sent to the front.

Ukrainian troops are still receiving modern weapons and new uniforms, but the contrast between how the soldiers of each side are armed is becoming more visible. Ukrainian soldiers are perplexed at finding dead Russian soldiers with Mosin-Nagant rifles. If nothing else, this boosts morale among Ukrainian soldiers who note that the Russians are running out of soldiers and modern rifles to arm them with.