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Russian Reinforcements Crash on Crimea Bridge

The Z-STS Akhmat armored vehicles offer “very high” protection from armor-piercing small arms, but not so much from speeding and careless driving.
Kyiv Post
March 28, 2023, 3:02 pm
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/15010

The Ukrainian Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate Russian has gleefully reported that on March 26 “five armored vehicles of the Russian terrorists did not make it to the combat zone.”

According to reports a convoy of five Z-STS Akhmats belonging to the 34th Russian Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade (MRB) was driving across the Crimean Bridge in the direction of occupied Crimea on their way to join up with elements of the brigade in Pridneprovsk.

The Main Intelligence Directorate said that according to official data, “speeding and failure to comply with the safe distance when driving in the convoy” led to four of the five vehicles colliding, resulting in the need for considerable repairs.

The “Akhmat” Z-STS (”Protected Special Vehicle”) is a three-axle all-wheel drive armored vehicle based on the chassis of a “KamAZ-5350” truck. It is claimed to provide a “very high”, level of protection from armor-piercing small arms, although its exact level of performance is not disclosed by the manufacturer.

A crew of four sit in two rows inside the drivers cab and space for six personnel exists in the rear compartment. Access is through two pairs of side doors and a stern hinged door.

The 34th MRB is a new unit that was formed in 2007 and is normally based in Storozhevaya, 200 miles south of Moscow. The brigade with its three front-line battalions and roughly 1,000 soldiers is a specialist formation, with a primary mission of conducting mountain warfare operations. They were reported to be operating in July in Kherson and it was further reported that they had taken a large number of casualties.