The Russian film company Mosfilm has donated fifty pieces of military equipment stored in warehouses to the needs of the Russian occupation forces.

This was reported by ASTRA.

The statement was made by Mosfilm CEO Karen Shakhnazarov during a meeting with Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin.

He detailed that in 2023, the film company handed over 28 T-55 tanks, eight PT-76 amphibious light tanks, six armored personnel carriers, and eight tractors to the Russian armed forces.

This equipment was used as a prop for filming movies and TV shows and also used as entertainment for tourists; it was stored at the Mosfilm facility in the town of Krasnoznamensk near Moscow.

It is worth noting that as of today, PT-76 amphibious light tanks have not been spotted in the combat zone, but given the growing shortage of armored vehicles in the Russian Armed Forces and the decommissioning of other outdated armored vehicles, such as the BTR-50, this is quite possible.

T-55 in the Russian Army

The Russian army is actively using Soviet T-55/T-54 medium tanks in combat operations against the Armed Forces of Ukraine as artillery, fire support vehicles, and infantry transport.

It should be reminded that the return of T-54 and T-55 tanks to service for the Russian army was announced in March 2023.

At that time, the Conflict Intelligence Team published photos of a train with these tanks heading from the far eastern part of Russia.

According to SIT, this echelon departed from the city of Arsenyev, which houses the 1295th Central Tank Reserve and Storage Base.

According to the ORYX OSINT service, the Russians lost at least 13 T-55/T-54 tanks of various modifications during the fighting.

The Soviet T-54 and T-55 tanks are commonly referred to under two indexes as two different models, but in fact they are part of the same line of combat vehicles. These tanks were constantly modernized and had design changes, while conceptually remaining the same tank.

The T-54/T-55 can be distinguished from the later T-62 by a characteristic “gap” between the front first and second support rollers. Other distinctive features include the muzzle compensator at the end of the D-10T gun barrel and the specific convex radiator “cap” on the turret roof.

Currently, there are three armored vehicle repair plants in Russia, but only one of them specializes in repairing vehicles such as the T-55 and T-62. This is the 103rd Armored Repair Plant, so the vehicles will be delivered there.

The key drawbacks of the T-54 and T-55 are the critically low level of protection, lack of rangefinders and ballistic computers, primitive sights and an inadequate gun stabilization system.