Why can't Russia fight against Ukraine's Mad Max vehicles?

What does it take to defeat a world power?Throughout the year, social media has been flooded with home footage depicting the Ukrainian army repurposing salvaged weaponry from defeated Russian soldiers, old Soviet remnants, and even deserted civilian houses, and using it to fend off its adversary. This has traditionally been a technique used by underdogs in conflict, but Ukraine has taken it to a whole new dimension. 🚙🗺⚒

• What does it take to defeat a superpower? When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many observers and analysts believed the conflict would end quickly. It appeared that Vladimir Putin would soon be in charge of his smaller neighbor as Russian troops gathered on the border, stormed the nation, entered Kyiv, and laid siege to the capital. But despite the odds, the Ukrainian military defended its borders and started to claim victory after victory. How did they do it? Over the course of the past year, social media has been flooded with videos of soldiers and civilians of all backgrounds successfully fending off the larger and more powerful Russian military. One of these has been the reuse of equipment from defeated Russian forces, outdated Soviet remnants, and even deserted homes for civilians.
• This has long been an underdog strategy in conflicts, but the Ukrainians have elevated the strategy to entirely new heights. Large amounts of equipment have been lost, taken, or shipped into the nation since the start of the conflict. Currently, Ukrainian soldiers have converted a variety of common cars, trucks, tractors, and dune buggies into terrifying weapons of war, creating scenes that resemble the weaponized steampunk vehicles from the Mad Max film. These hastily constructed, heavily armed weapons have been dealing serious harm to Russian troops all year. They are effective in almost any environment and are useful against both tanks and aircraft, firing and escaping before they can be targeted.
• Armed civilian vehicles are nothing new. In fact, they have existed for almost as long as cars themselves. However, the modern variety, also referred to as "techniques," was invented in the 1990s in places like Somalia, Afghanistan, and Libya. In the early stages of the US-led War on Terror, they were initially a tool of armed groups lacking access to proper military equipment, but they later turned into a tool of governments. Because they could move through areas with little to no infrastructure, US and British Special Forces started using technology heavily to combat the Taliban in Afghanistan. The technical eventually played a significant role in special operations while continuing to be valuable to forces with fewer resources.
• Even though most lack the armor of a tank, technicals are quick and inexpensive, so why are the Ukrainian armed forces using them when they have access to sufficient military hardware? They are therefore ideal for engaging in asymmetric warfare with a more powerful foe. Technicals perform well in difficult-to-reach locations because they are much easier to maintain and find replacement parts for than conventional military equipment such as tanks or Humvees. The war has left Ukraine with a surplus of vehicles, many of which are ideal for making these lethal machines. Although they have recently increased their efforts, Ukraine's creative technology has a long history that dates back to 2014.
• Following Russia's annexation of Crimea in that year, volunteer battalions in Ukraine started to put together a fleet of home-built war machines. Inactive industrial warehouses were frequently used to assemble these. The battalions started retrofitting everything they could get their hands on in anticipation of further Russian aggression using scrap metal and old Soviet parts. Many of their early designs resembled reinforced tanks and prioritized mobility over extremely heavy armor in an effort to hold a precarious front line. Ukraine's production of light weapons, however, significantly increased as the possibility of a full-scale invasion grew. Millions of people fled their homes out of fear for their lives when a full-scale war finally broke out.
• A sizable number of automobiles, including tractors, cars, trucks, and other vehicles, were abandoned all over the nation as a result of the exodus. Additionally, many more contemporary automobiles, such as pickup trucks and SUVs with armor plating, were donated from abroad. Numerous additional small, crowd sourced factories were founded both inside and outside the borders of Ukraine in the weeks following the invasion. Volunteers equip the technicians there with weapons and armor before sending them to the front lines. The additional layer of armor on a technical is essential because it can protect those inside from deadly hazards like shrapnel while also slowing down the cars.
• Ivan Oleksii, a 25-year-old e-sports analyst who is from Kherson, runs Cars4Ukraine, one of the most prosperous of these retrofitting businesses. His March-launched business has produced numerous technicals for cars all over Europe. Each truck can be purchased for less than $6,000, and they can quickly turn them into terrifying weapons of war. Each is also a declaration of patriotism, bearing the Ukrainian flag and the now-famous early-in-the-war adage. Russian warships go fuck yourselves. But this is only one of dozens of operations, many of which have technical aspects that are incredibly innovatively designed. Although almost anything with wheels can be turned into a technical vehicle, pickup trucks and light flatbeds have historically been used to build them.
• According to reports, Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux models, as well as Mitsubishi L200s, are the most popular vehicles for technicals in Ukraine. These are all renowned for their dependability and simplicity of use. This is essential for navigating hostile territory and quickly escaping enemy fire. Machine guns, drones, and multi-rocket launchers are just a few of the many weapons Ukrainian technicians have been spotted carrying. These were mostly taken from Russian forces that were defeated. The internet has seen some striking results as a result of this. A recent taunting video from the Ukrainian Defense Ministry depicts one of these Mitsubishi trucks with a Russian helicopter rocket launcher mounted to the back.
• Another instance involved an old Volga sedan from the Soviet era that had a remote-controlled 14.5" heavy machine gun. The machine gun and car are both out-of-date, but they have been integrated with the cutting-edge remote control system. This and other clever designs have reduced Ukrainian battlefield losses while dealing significant damage to the frequently underequipped Russian military.
• Another unit of soldiers was captured on camera firing an automatic Soviet 2B9 Vasilek 82 mm mortar from the bed of a farm truck. The Vasilek typically has a small wheeled base and can fire armor-piercing shells with a 75-gram warhead that can pierce 100 millimeters of plating in a matter of seconds. Even though these Soviet weapons are decades old, they can still deliver devastating firepower.