#UkraineWar

The M14 rifle holds a significant place in the history of American military firearms, serving as a bridge between the battle rifles of World War II and the US’ military’s modern assault rifles. Developed in the post-World War II era, the M14 was the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military during the early stages of the Vietnam War. Despite its relatively short service life (though it has soldiered on in niche roles), the M14 is like that crazy ex-girlfriend that somehow keeps coming back when you least expect it. This year marks the M14’s 72nd birthday and the 52nd anniversary of its civilian variant, the M1A produced by Springfield Armory. And with the recent new that the CMP would be making surplus M14s available, I thought this would be a good time to look back at the history and development of one of my favorite battle rifles of all time.

The US government has announced the transfer of enough small arms to equip a brigade to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The weapons originate from the thousands of weapons and millions of rounds of ammunition that have been seized in recent years from Iranian shipments to the Houthis in Yemen.

On 11 April, Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, announced that Canada would provided Ukraine with “21,000 5.56mm assault rifles” and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition. This latest round of security assistance brings the value of Canada’s aid to Ukraine to CAD 8 billion ($6 billion).

On 15 March a report from Russia’s Federal News Agency featured an interesting semi-automatic sniper rifle that hasn’t regularly been seen in use during the conflict – the MTs-566. The report shows a sniper team from Wagner, Russia’s largest private military contractor, in position in Bakhmut. The date the piece was filmed is unclear but the rifle itself is rarely seen and the footage gives us a decent look at the rifle and even of it firing a couple of rounds.

Recently a very burnt VSS 9x39mm marksman’s rifle turn up on a Ukrainian auction site. The remains of the rifle are described as a trophy and photographs show most of the major metal components of the weapon including its bolt, main spring, receiver and suppressor shroud. The weapon’s stock, plastic forend and top cover aren’t present, however, the cover is probably lost and the stock/pistol grip and forend are probably destroyed by fire. The remains of the metal tab for the sling are still attached to the sling loop.

Longtime readers and viewers of TFB and TFBTV will know Miles V fairly well. Miles is most well known for covering a lot of older firearms, their history, how they were used, as well as who they were used by. Miles is also fairly well known for just how well-traveled he is and has brought us some of the best coverage of foreign firearms markets, industries, and cultures available on the web. Miles is the co-creator of the Silah Report, which is a blog and intelligence network that researches and reports on firearms in the Middle East and North African regions of the globe. Miles used to be a frequent contributor to TFBTV and has also written for TFB, Small Arms Review, Small Arms Defense Journal, RECOIL Magazine, and many other online and print firearms media. It’s been a few years since we’ve had Miles on the podcast so I thought it would be good for us to get caught up and see where he’s been and what he has been up to the last year or so. In today’s episode, Miles gives us an insider’s perspective on the War in Ukraine including what kind of arms and gear fighters have access to and the general state of the conflict. Please welcome Miles back to TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast!

Finnish ammunition manufacturer Lapua have announced the suspension of some of their ammunition components due to “continued high product demand and the prevailing market conditions”. In the announcement, Lapua pointed to the ongoing “Ukraine situation” putting pressure on the availability of some materials used in ammunition production.

The number of internet users worldwide will soon reach the 5-billion mark. Our world has never been so connected. Great photos can spread like wildfire, but the story and the necessary context sometimes gets left behind. Not in TFB’s Photo Of The Day where we will always accompany the images with a background and credits to the maker. In the image above you can see a homage to “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine) as a reference to the Ukrainian farmers towing off abandoned Russian tanks. This stage of the Danish International Sniper Competition (DISC) 2022 looks seriously difficult!

In recent weeks we’ve examined how the UK has procured various 7.62x39mm AK-pattern rifles for use in training Ukrainian troops in the UK. The latest video and photographs from the training the UK is providing show that alongside the previously identified AK variants a number of Chinese Type 56-1 rifles have also been procured.

Over the past month or so we’ve seen an increasing number of photographs of M14s appearing in Ukraine. Developed in the 1950s and chambered in the brand new 7.62x51mm cartridge the M14 rifle entered US service in early 1960. They’ve since seen service around the world, and now, most recently in Ukraine.

It’s now three weeks since Vladimir Putin’s Russia invaded Ukraine. We have seen the Ukrainian Armed Forces put up an impressive fight while Russia’s forces have stalled since their initial attempts at a lightning advance failed. While images of burnt-out or abandoned Russian armoured vehicles have dominated the news and social media there have been some interesting small arms seen. Everything from the newest Ukrainian AR-15s to Russia-backed separatists with Mosin-Nagants.