Russian Senator Sergei Muratov presented an S-8 aircraft rocket to a municipal district in his native Kurgan region near Kazakhstan’s border, local media reported Friday.
“May you develop as swiftly as this rocket. May you always hit your targets like this rocket,” Muratov said during a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of the Pritobolny district in the village of Glyadanskoye.
A video shared on Muratov’s Telegram channel showed two women in traditional dress delivering the rocket on stage, where Muratov unwrapped it to applause.
“It’s a real rocket,” Muratov said, referring to the 80 mm S-8, a weapon typically used by helicopters and fighter-bombers.
Muratov, who sits on the upper-house Federation Council’s Defense Committee, highlighted that the S-8 is produced by Kurganpribor, a defense company based in the region and subject to U.S. and EU sanctions.
The Federation Council’s website lists Muratov as Kurganpribor’s former head of development, while the independent news outlet Govorit NeMoskva claims his family owns the company.
Local officials plan to donate the rocket to a regional history museum, Muratov wrote on Telegram.
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