Armored vehicles and Grads from Crimea, which Russia returns to Ukraine, are immediately thrown against Donbass
Moscow – Simferopol, April 16 (Navigator – Mikhail Shtamm) – Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov cannot explain why Russia transferred previously captured ships, 389 vehicles, special-purpose and armored vehicles, eight helicopters and aircraft from Crimea to Ukraine. Antonov complains that all of the transferred equipment, weapons, and ammunition are being deliberately transferred to the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Luhansk regions.
Subscribe to Navigator Kyiv news on Facebook or VKontakte
As Kommersant learned, I. O. The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Colonel General Mikhail Koval, sent the leadership of the Russian military department a detailed list of more than 1,5 thousand weapons and special equipment with a request to send all this from Crimea to the territory of the country..
An official close to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense told Kommersant about General Koval’s appeal to the leadership of the Russian Ministry of Defense. According to him, the document is accompanied by a list of about 700 pages, which meticulously lists all the property requested for removal. In total, the list includes 1558 units of special equipment and weapons, 55 aircraft and helicopters, 559 missiles and more than 1 million ammunition.
This first official document received by the Russian Ministry of Defense from the current military authorities of Ukraine, according to the newspaper, was regarded by the Russian military as official recognition of Russia's de facto jurisdiction over the Crimean peninsula.
According to Kommersant’s interlocutor, on the Ukrainian lists in the “first stage” there was equipment of the 36th separate coastal defense brigade (Perevalnoye village, military unit A2320). It was she who was the first to be sent to Ukraine by rail. In particular, T-64 brigade tanks, Osa-AKM anti-aircraft missile systems and Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns have already left Crimea.
In total, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense as of yesterday, the Ukrainian army managed to receive from Crimea 389 units of automobile, special and armored equipment, eight helicopters and airplanes. In addition, the missile boat “Priluki”, the military tanker “Fastov” and the demagnetization vessel “Balta” were towed to Odessa and handed over to the Ukrainian Navy.
However, yesterday, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu suspended the transfer process by his decision. As Anatoly Antonov explained to journalists, “the entire range of transferred equipment and weapons, as well as ammunition, is being transferred in transit to the eastern regions of Ukraine. Moreover, light armored vehicles, small arms and multiple launch rocket systems are being purposefully transferred to the Donetsk, Kharkov and Lugansk regions.”