The Defense Forces received M113 armored personnel carriers equipped for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield. The transfer of these vehicles to Ukraine was previously announced by the Spanish authorities.
The Ministry of Defense's press service reported on this.
“Dozens of these evacuation armored vehicles have already arrived in Ukraine. Several hundred more are expected in the near future. Grateful to our partners for their support in the war," said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
He noted that tracked vehicles have significantly higher cross-country capability, making them more effective in evacuating the wounded in rough terrain.
"We are already transferring armored vehicles for the evacuation of the wounded to combat units. My deputy, Natalia Kalmikova, coordinates this project. Grateful to our partners for their support in the war," the minister said.
The M113 is a versatile armored personnel carrier that was in serial production from 1960 to 2007. It remained the primary armored personnel carrier of the United States for a long time and was also supplied in significant quantities to other countries.
The total number of M113 armored personnel carriers produced, including variants based on its chassis, exceeds 88,000 units. As of 2022, they are in use in more than 44 countries worldwide, including the United States.
The carrier is designed to transport 13 personnel, and its armor can withstand hits from mine fragments and bullets up to 14.5 mm caliber.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the versatile armored personnel carriers have been actively utilized by the Ukrainian military. Several countries have reported their transfer to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
