In the context of the recent tensions inside russia, an interesting fact draws attention: the news from June 13 this year was that Yevgeny Prigozhin, being the owner of not only a private army called Wagner PMC but also of the Concord company group, visited one of the enterprises of russian military industry – the Muromteplovoz plant.
This plant specializes in producing armored vehicles, foremostly in repairs and modernization of MT-LB and MT-LBu multi-purpose carriers, as well as making turrets for them. Secondary products are locomotives and specialized railway equipment. Though judging by the photos, Prigozhin was interested in the plant's projects related to MT-LBs.
Read more: Russian Army Used Ka-52 and Mi-28 Helicopters Against Wager Group, Part of Them Were Downed
Notably, the "Putin's Chef" was accompanied by Viktor Bout, russian weapons dealer that had been released from prison in the United States a few months ago. What was the latter's role in this visit, is not clear.
Prigozhin's interest in the enterprise, we assume, is based on his potential plans to acquire MT-LBs from the russian military reserves to provide equipment to his mercenary units.
How many vehicles it could be, it's hard to assess. Statistics from The Military Balance 2022 say russia had 2,000 units of MT-LB armored carriers in service and 3,000 more in reserve.
But starting July 2022, the regular army of the russian federation has been taking the vehicles out of old warehouses for own needs. It could be due to the lack of spare parts on the civilian market which was the central topic of our earlier article.
Read more: Russians Installed Ship's Anti-Aircraft Gun On the MT-LB Armored Vehicle
