A Russian armored train has been spotted operating in Ukraine’s south amid the ongoing large-scale military operation launched by Moscow in the neighboring country. The old-school hardware was used to provide cover for foreign nationals, seeking to evacuate from Ukraine, Zvezda TV reported Tuesday.
The train escorted some 248 foreign nationals from Ukraine’s Kherson region into the town of Armyansk, located in the northernmost part of Russia’s Crimean Peninsula. Footage circulated by Zvezda shows the train includes a soft locomotive, an armored car, an open armored platform, as well as an anti-aircraft carriage with multiple AA-guns and other cars.
Another video, said to have been filmed by onlookers outside Melitopol, shows the train passing through the outskirts of the Ukrainian town. The rare sight attracted a few onlookers, with some waving to Russian soldiers, while the woman filming the video let out an expletives-laden rant, shouting “Glory to Ukraine!” multiple times.
Moscow launched large-scale offensive against Ukraine back on February 24, with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin explaining it was the only option left to protect the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in Ukraine’s east from Kiev’s attacks. Putin also outlined the goals of “denazification” and “demilitarization” of the neighboring country.
Kiev has insisted the attack was “unprovoked”, denying having plans to re-conquer the republics. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics split from Ukraine following the 2014 Maidan coup, which ousted the country’s democratically-elected government.