A muddy mess in Ukraine is making trouble for new howitzers so sensitive to dirt they come with their own vacuum cleaners

• Spring conditions have limited mobility for both Ukrainian and Russian troops.
• Ukraine's recently obtained German-made self-propelled howitzers are particularly vulnerable to mud.

Springtime mud is plaguing the war-torn battlefields of eastern Ukraine, creating mobility issues for Russian and Ukrainian forces, slowing down their respective operations. It's also affecting some weapons.

The state of the terrain is proving to be a hurdle for Kyiv's troops assigned to a specific piece of military hardware acquired from Germany during winter — German-made 155mm howitzers that are extremely sensitive to the dirty and grimy conditions.

Germany has sent 14 Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, according to an inventory of its military support to Kyiv. These weapons contain electronics that are so vulnerable to dirt and moisture that soldiers have to wear slippers or booties when they enter the vehicles so they don't track in any mud, the New York Times reported on Monday.

Each howitzer even comes with a vacuum cleaner, and the barrels sometimes have to be cleaned with a long brush. "The Panzer really loves cleanliness," an artillery commander named Mykola told the Times, referring to a nickname for the Panzerhaubitze. "If you fire off two full loads of ammunition, you need to spend a day servicing it."

Serhii, a lieutenant with the 43rd Separate Artillery Brigade, even decided to recall the howitzers from the field out of fear that should the machines come under Russian fire, mud will prevent them from escaping the bombardment, the Times reported. In Germany, these vehicles were kept in climate-controlled garages.

That said, the Ukrainian forces operating the German-made howitzers have reportedly seen some successes against Russian tank and infantry units despite the current conditions on the ground.

It's not the first time that Ukraine's forces have dealt with the challenge of weaponry getting stuck in the mud. Units have reported that their Soviet-era T-64 tanks were getting trapped in the sludgy terrain — one of several issues troops found with the decades-old tanks.

Britain's defense ministry shared in a recent intelligence update that mud was likely impacting operations on both the Russian and Ukrainian side in the wake of the cold winter months, although the surface conditions were expected to improve within a few weeks as the weather gets better.

"With soft ground conditions across most of Ukraine, severe mud is highly likely slowing operations for both sides in the conflict," the April 21 update read.

Ukrainian forces have been gearing up to launch a much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia after receiving a massive influx of heavy armor and advanced military hardware from the US and its Western partners. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters last week that nearly all the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have been delivered, and Ukraine's defense minister said his country was nearly ready to hit with an "iron fist."

"That means over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 tanks and other equipment, including vast amounts of ammunition," Stoltenberg said of the deliveries. "In total we have trained and equipped more than nine new Ukrainian armoured brigades, this will put Ukraine in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory."