President of Ukraine: another batch of upgraded T-80 tanks is sent to the Donbas
Kyiv is sending its military in the Donbass a batch of upgraded T-80 tanks, as reported by the President of Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko.
"The next consignment of the T-80 “good-looking” tanks will be sent to the Ukrainian highly mobile airborne forces in the front line! We continue to work to strengthen our defense capability," wrote Poroshenko on his Facebook page without specifying how many tanks would be received by the military and when.
Previously, Poroshenko stated that in the defense budget for 2017, an emphasis should be placed on the modernization of old tanks, as there weren’t sufficient funds for the purchase of new tanks.
According to him, it is better to have ten upgraded T-64 or T-80 tanks than one new Oplot tank.
As reported by the Ukrainian Ukroboronprom conern, a new line was launched at the Krarkiv Armored Machinery plant with the purpose of repairing and upgrading the old unused military equipment.
The T-80 is a main assault tank produced in the former USSR. It was approved for use by the Soviet army as early as 1976.