Russia’s oldest and biggest movie studio Mosfilm donated dozens of Soviet-era tanks and other armored vehicles to the Russian army last year, its CEO said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
Mosfilm storage facilities housed 28 T-55 tanks, eight PT-76 light tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles and other military equipment, according to the company’s chief executive Karen Shakhnazarov.
“I learned that there was a need, contacted the Defense Ministry and they took these vehicles,” Shakhnazarov told Putin in a meeting at the Kremlin.
It was not immediately clear if any of the Soviet-era tanks had already been deployed to the battlefield in Ukraine.
However, open-source intelligence groups that track Russian and Ukrainian military equipment losses have previously reported Moscow sending outdated tanks to the front lines.
Shakhnazarov also boasted Wednesday that Mosfilm had donated 6 million rubles ($60,900) for Russia’s war needs so far in 2024.
Founded in 1924, Mosfilm is known for having produced Soviet cinema classics such as “Alexander Nevsky” and “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears.”
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