The Russian Wagner Group mercenary organization has received a batch of modified T-90S tanks.
Images appeared on the social media platform Telegram on Monday, showing what appears to be the T-90S main battle tanks, also known as ‘Bhishma’, which were used by Wagner Group mercenaries in Ukraine.
The Kremlin-backed mercenary Wagner Group, owned by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a plutocrat nicknamed “Putin’s chef,” is a Russian paramilitary organization. It is variously described as a private military company, a network of mercenaries, or a de facto private army of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As to T-90S, it is an initial export variant of the T-90 developed for the Indian Army and the global defense market.
The modified T-90S became one of Russia’s most successful defense export products, and arguably remains the most commercially successful export tank of its time.
As noted by the Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport, the T-90S is an advanced version of the T-series of Russian tanks, offering increased firepower, mobility and protection and it is designed for the export market.
Meanwhile, the Oryx blog, which counts Russian military equipment losses in Ukraine based on photographs sent from the front lines, is reporting that the Russian Armed Forces already lost three export-centered T-90S tanks.