Some of the unique Russian military vehicles have been spotted on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The BTR-90 armored personnel carrier Russia pulled from the storage of the 38th Research Institute in Kubinka was reportedly spotted in Ukraine.
Andriy Tarasenko, a military analyst who studies the history of armored vehicles of the USSR and modern Russia, has released a video showing a rare BTR-90 with a white “V” symbol painted on the fronts and sides of the hull.
“The BTR-90 was adopted by the Russian Armed Forces by Order of the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation No. 324 of June 9, 2008. Defense Minister of the Russian Federation No. 324 of June 9, 2008, but it was not mass-produced,” Tarasenko wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
First ever BTR-90 in action. Less than a dozen made and stored in Russia #38 research institute https://t.co/yocNQ3exHL pic.twitter.com/4gAcocJO49
— Andrei_bt (@AndreiBtvt) October 13, 2023
The troop carrier is said to have been part of a larger column of Russian combat vehicles, including “Z” tanks, in Ukraine.
Apparently, Russian stocks of modern armored vehicles are being reduced to such an extent that even a museum-ready armored personnel carrier was thrown into battle simply to make up the required numbers.
The BTR-90, better known as the Rostok, is a wheeled armored personnel carrier developed in Russia, designed in 1993 and first shown publicly in 1994. The BTR-90 has a standard internal arrangement of the Soviet-era BTR-80 family. It has an engine compartment located in the hull rear. Driver is seated at the front of the hull, turret controls and troop compartment are located in the middle.
This vehicle has a slightly larger and higher hull than the previous BTR-80, but never went into production.
In October 2011 the Ministry of Defence refused to buy more BTR-90 and did not include them in the list of the state program of armament until 2020, and waived exports for the BTR-90.