Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia’s Chechnya region, has confirmed that the Russian military has received its first batch of Chinese-made armored vehicles.
Kadyrov released footage showing “new vehicles purchased for Chechen units participating in the Special Military Operation [war in Ukraine].”
The new vehicle is the Tiger 4×4 armored personnel carrier, developed by the Chinese defense company Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicles Manufacturing.
The Tiger APC (ZFB-05 Xinxing) has a crew of two, consisting of the commander and the driver, and can carry nine fully equipped infantrymen.
The Tiger can be adapted for various roles, such as APC, patrol, police vehicle, ambulance, command post and weapons carrier. Since its introduction at the 2012 Eurosatory exhibition, the Tiger has been sold to several militaries, including those of the Bahamas, Bolivia, Somalia and Tajikistan.
Kadyrov led forces in Ukraine that have been particularly brutal and involved in killing and torturing civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, Bakhmut, and Sievierodonetsk.