The executive director of the Russian Rostec concern, which produces Russia’s most advanced T-14 Armata tank, Serhiy Tsemezov, assures that it has been adopted by the country’s Armed Forces, but it is not used in Ukraine because it is too expensive, reports Meduza.

T-14 “Armata” tanks looked good in parades, but how they will behave in the war remains to be seenPhoto: DreamsTime / Ihor Dolgov

“In terms of functionality, of course, it is significantly superior to existing tanks, but it is too expensive, so it is unlikely that the army will use it now. It’s easier for them to buy the same T-90,” Tsemezov said in a comment to the RIA Novosti agency.

It was this Russian state news agency that in April of last year first reported that Russia had begun using its new T-14 Armata tanks to attack Ukrainian positions, “but they have not yet taken part in direct assault operations.”

This information was not later confirmed by images from the front or other independent sources, but it came after the British Ministry of Defense said in January 2023 in one of its assessments of the war in Ukraine that Russia was preparing to send a number of small T tanks to the front -14, but the Russian troops fighting in Ukraine are still skeptical about the capabilities of this model.

Russia introduced the T-14 Armata tank almost ten years ago

In 2021, Defense Minister Serhii Shoigu called the planned 2022 production only an “experimental and industrial” batch, so it is unlikely that the deployed T-14 tanks meet the usual standards for the new equipment to be considered ready.

Russia’s defense industry has claimed for years that the tank is the most advanced it has ever produced, and that it is equipped with powerful weapons, advanced technology and a revolutionary design compared to other tanks in Moscow’s armed forces.

The T-14 “Armata” was first presented to the general public in Moscow in 2015 at the Victory Day parade. During the dress rehearsal, he had technical problems and got stuck, but during the parade he walked through Red Square without incident.

Although Russian state media, including TASS, RIA and Interfax agencies, wrote several times last year that the tank would be used in Ukraine, the head of Rostec announced only this Monday that it had entered service with Moscow’s forces, although it did. do not specify when.

And practically excluded the possibility of using the tank in Ukraine.

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PHOTO: DreamsTime / Ihor Dolgov.