Another BTR-82A (a BTR-80 with a 30mm gun bolted to the top) was captured by the Ukrainian Army near Izium. This is the 71st BTR-82A confirmed captured by the Ukrainians, and oddly it STILL has parade stripes. This begs the question, why the frick do some Russian vehicles still have parade stripes in month 5 of the invasion? I can understand the first month, when the Russians thought they'd be parading in Kiev in a week, but now? Seriously, does anyone know why these vehicles have parade stripes this late into the war? Is it just LARP? Or are these being nabbed from some kind of storage for vehicles that usually only get rolled out for parades?
It also had this cringe USSR sticker on the turret. I don't know if this BTR was lost during a failed Russian assault on Ukrainian lines, or if it was overrun by Ukrainian forces who have apparently been doing some localized counter-attacks near Izium in recent days.
it's a 'guards' distinction
it's a leftover from soviet times, but unlike the mish-mash of flags seen on occupant forces a totally official thing in modern russia, the re-design is minimal, pretty mcuh just changed CCCP to POCCNR
The russians don't rotate units, that btr has probably been on the front lines since it's last parade
>The russians don't rotate units
That...that can't be true in the 21st century.
Actually they literally don't. The Russians themselves are complaining about it. I would guess half has been rotated, half has been fighting since 24th of February
I'm sorry anon, this whole invasion is a giant shit show
very few rotate but they do, there was video in Russia about troops in one city returning in busses, I remember even Donbabweans are allowed to rotate(somewhat) mainly because soldiers family members complained that only one company out of 5 returned and they assumed remaining 4 are still kept on the front, 5 months straight
special military operation only has one ticket, either you buy the way back or you don't
I got that one from the M.O.D itself if I recall correctly
It's the truth as long as you are willing to trust the word of Her Majesties Secret Service
If you rotate them out they might cancel their contracts once back at base.
>That...that can't be true in the 21st century.
Oh they get rotated, anon. Rotated from their successful Kyiv feint into the meat grinder in the east.
Russia is limited by manpower. They don't have enough contract soldiers to rotate units effectively.
Rotating units is a foreign concept to their political comentators and bloggers (which were shocked to find out that some units they were spreading lies about were no longer on the front lines), but I doubt it's that foreign to their actual officers. Unit rotation is essential not just for morale, but for fitness as well.
>can't be true in the 21st century
We've seen Russia employ WW1 tactics with late Cold War tech. We've also seen them frustrated and confused by 18th century tactics.
Some of their soldiery behave like Iron Age militias, and they treat their prisoners and enemy civilians like a Biblical israelite would.
It very much is. Since Russia is calling it a "special military operation", units can refuse to go into the meat grinder. Since they can't get anybody new to go in, the ones that are already there are forced at gunpoint by their Chechen commissars to stay.
This.
Probably too lazy to take the stripes off. It doesn't have any real tactical effect besides making your enemy think you're lazy (which they are)
You're mixing up your model designations.
A BTR-82A is a BTR-82 with the old BTR-80 KPVT turret.
The BTR-80A is a BTR-80 with the newer 30mm turret.
>so what is the difference between a BTR-80A and a BTR-82
Only important one I know of is the presence of a spall liner in the BTR-82.
>why the frick do some Russian vehicles still have parade stripes in month 5 of the invasion?
they probably sent this one after the parade in moscow