NEWTOWN, Conn. - The newly formed Ukrainian National Guard is now equipped with upgraded T-64B1 tanks.
Ukraine's state-run Malyshev Plant has delivered a batch of T-64B1 tanks to National Guard. Additional deliveries are expected to follow. The tanks will be deployed with units fighting Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The upgraded tanks feature updated armor and fire-control systems. The vehicles were believed to have been built for foreign customers but were redirected to the National Guard when the conflict escalated earlier this year. The National Guard itself was formed this past March by the National Security and Defense Council due to the situation in the east.
The National Guard will also be supplied with modernized T-72TB tanks and 100 BTR armored personnel carriers (APCs). The APC deliveries will include 58 BTR-4 8 x 8 APCs, five BTR-3E 8x8 APCs, 10 BTR-80 8x8 APCs and one BTR-70DI APC.