#Putin warns he is ready to arm his allies with modern weapons

Putin warns he is ready to arm his allies with modern weapons
Putin uses speech at Army-2022 expo to sell arms to militaries from 72 nations
He boasted that Russia's 'modern' weapons 'used more than once in real combat'
Kremlin leader also claimed they're 'years, if not decades' ahead of enemy arms
Russia's invasion of Ukraine, near six-month mark, cursed by series of failures
Sputtering military technology has worried allied buyers India, Egypt and China
Vladimir Putin has boasted that Russian weapons are 'decades' ahead of Western rivals' in a speech at an arms expo in Moscow.

Delegations from more than 70 countries are attending Army-2022 to take advantage of good deals on Russian kit.
Almost all of them have been used more than once in real combat operations.

'Many of them are years, if not decades, ahead of their foreign counterparts.

'And in terms of tactical and technical characteristics they are significantly superior to them.'

He was speaking nearly six months into Russia's war in Ukraine, where Moscow has suffered repeated setbacks and heavy losses.

Putin also spoke positively of the war despite a flurry of large-scale setbacks including the apparent destruction of a key mercenary group's HQ with American HIMARS missiles.'They are fighting for Russia', he said, '[and] for a peaceful life in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. Step by step, they liberate the Donbas.'

Western military analysts say the poor performance of Russian troops and weaponry could make its arms exports less attractive to potential buyers.

Allies such as India and Egypt have heavily relied on its technology in the past.

In July, Egypt bought 500 Russian T-90 tanks.

India has purchased more than 450 and Algeria has also bought T-90 tanks, making them the most advanced military vehicle found in Africa.

India, China and Egypt accounted for nearly two-thirds of Russian arms sales from 2017 to 2021, Bloomberg reported.

Its sluggish development of competitive drones, easily destroyed T-90 tanks, and missing-in-action T-14 Armata have sent worrying signals to all three partners.

Competitors Japan, South Korea, Turkey or some European countries could pose a threat to Russia's arms industry as non-aggressors in frosty US-China relations.

Putin's speech came as a Kremlin foreign ministry spokesperson said Russia will do 'everything necessary' to enable nuclear specialists to attend the fiercely fought-over Zaporizhzhia power station in southern Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russia.

Scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be able to visit the plant, Maria Zakharova promised today.

"In close cooperation with the Agency and its leadership, we will do everything necessary for the IAEA specialists to be at the station and give a truthful assessment of the destructive actions of the Ukrainian side," Zakharova said.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, was captured by Russia early on in its invasion of Ukraine.

The plant has come under shelling in recent days, with both Moscow and Kyiv accusing each other of risking a nuclear accident.

Kyiv has accused Russia of firing at Ukrainian towns from the site in the knowledge that its forces would not return fire at one of the world's ten biggest nuclear sites.

Moscow has reportedly shelled the area, blaming Ukraine without evidence.

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency has said the shelling of Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest nuclear power station, could cause a nuclear disaster.