The latest Russian museum tank to roll into combat is the T-72 Ural, the original model of the tank type that has been standard across the Russian and allied armies for five decades. The Uralvagonzavod factory in central Russia manufactured Urals for just a few years before switching to improved T-72 models in the late 1970s.
As Tank Losses Top 2,000, Russia Is Deploying T-72s From 1974
“They are trying to work out what to do to preserve their wealth, position, & power.”
— max seddon (@maxseddon) June 2, 2023
As the Russian war effort sputters, elite-backed PMCs like Gazprom’s are mushrooming in Ukraine. Barnburner story by @polinaivanovva with @ChristopherJM and yours trulyhttps://t.co/o4ON41oF23
The proliferation of volunteer battalions has begun to unsettle Prigozhin, the head of Russia's largest and most notorious private military company, Wagner. The caterer-turned-warlord in April released a foul-mouthed 26-minute rant against rivals he accused of attempting to steal his thunder — and his funding. Prigozhin name-checked Potok and Fakel in the speech and claimed such groups, which were little-known at the time, wanted "to dilute Wagner" so that there would not be "one big force that can play a role in domestic politics".
"Everyone is saying that there will be a power struggle at some point, and everyone needs their own army," Prigozhin said.
