Question about Ukraine OOB...

[MarkSheppard]

https://twitter.com/AFVRec_/status/1772732087616835789

Out of all the vehicles that have been pulled out of storage and used by Russia in this war, this is one that was really at the bottom of my list to even see in theatre, never mind be destroyed.

The video shows what appears to be a Ladoga protected command vehicle, I won’t talk too much about it here as I made a whole post on the vehicle, so check below for the full info on it, in short it was designed to move senior Kremlin staff around under safety in the event of a nuclear attack, it was trialled in 1986 at the Chernobyl NPP.

Based on T-80 chassis with superstructure installed in place of turret.

https://twitter.com/AFVRec_/status/1695401878694043992

The Ladoga’s main test would be in Spring 1986 in Chernobyl, Ukrainian SSR. The vehicle with the callsign 317 was transported from Leningrad, Russian SFSR to Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR in May, the vehicle then went to the power plant to conduct chemical reconnaissance of the area, the vehicle was not alone and had a full CBRN company along with it, including decontamination systems as well as doctors and support troops. Supposedly the Ladoga even conducted extreme close up reconnaissance of the power plant, apparently inside the reactor room. The testing ended in Autumn that year, where it was sent back to Leningrad.

‘In total, from May 3 to September 28, 1986, "Ladoga" passed more than 4,720 km, overcoming sections with a background of up to 1600 R/hour, entering the engine room of the Chernobyl NPP, performing reconnaissance of the area in the territory adjacent to the fourth power unit. VTS "Ladoga" conducted a reconnaissance study of the area of the adjacent area, making video recordings of the most dangerous places and performing other works near the city of Pripyat and the destroyed power unit of the nuclear power plant.’

https://twitter.com/AFVRec_/status/1695402021740802417

According to sources no more than 4/5 vehicles were produced, including a prototype for testing in different areas of the USSR. There is 1x Ladoga on display in Patriot Park in the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky (Rostov Region). The fate of the other vehicles are unknown.