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Russian occupants employed command vehicle R-149MA1 for Donbas invasion. PHOTOS
Yet another OSINT investigation by Ukrainian volunteers reveals another type of military equipment, a unified R-149MA1 command post vehicle seen at Marynivka cargo and passenger checkpoint during the 2014 invasion of Russian army in Ukraine.
Censor.NET reports citing an article by InformNapalm."Russian high-ranking military, seen in the same time and place, proves that the command vehicle was not simply delivered from military stores, it was functioning for the purpose of the Russian regular troops," the authors of the article say.
Technical and tactical features of R-149MA1 command vehicle
This type of vehicle was designed within the order of Russian president on creation of unified system of tactical link command in Russia. The vehicle is used for command and communication at brigade/regiment level.
In 2014, Russian military loved taking pictures at Ukrainian checkpoint of Marynivka. Here is another photo by Russian collaborationist Ivan Zaika (Myrotvorets profile), who used to serve in Ukraine's border troops in Yalta, Crimea.
A Russian R-149MA1 command vehicle is worth noting here behind the backs of militants. The photo was uploaded on VKontakte Aug. 18, 2014.
Here, a section of the photo at Marynivka is compared with a high quality image of Russian R-140MA1 command vehicle.
The volunteers found more images of the same type of vehicle. In February 2017, Twitter user @askai707 posted a photo of militants posing at a checkpoint against an abandoned Humvee. An upper part of a Russian R-149MA1 command vehicle is also seen on the picture, marked with a red arrow.
The vehicle was seen on M-4 Don highway at Chertkovo junction, ( 49.383973, 40.584392 ), the authors of the investigation report.
To reveal the time when the images were taken, Google Earth Pro archives were used against the photo of the Russian militants at Marynivka checkpoint with a Humvee.
Photo dated Aug. 16, 2014, with empty spot marked with red arrow:
Photo dated Aug. 30, 2014, with a Humvee in place:
A satellite image dated Sept. 14, 2014 shows no more Humvee:
"We are sure that the abandoned Humvee was at the checkpoint between Aug. 18, 2014, and Sept. 5, 2014. This means that the photo of the Russian militants against the abandoned Humvee, with the Russian R-149MA1 command vehicle, was made during this time," the authors said.
They noted one photo against the same Humvee - of Russian Colonel of the 18th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District Vitaly Kulgavyuk. He was identified by the user @askai707. Below are images posted by Lilia Osmanova, who is close to Kulgavyuk, on Aug. 28, 2014.
"This gives us, in one short period of time, photos of a Russian senior military officer and a Russian special vehicle used by the Russian Federation for commanding the invasion troops at this part of the Ukraine-Russia border," the authors sum up.
