72-CW-3200 RUSSIA TODAY MOT INFANTRY ON THEIR VEHICLE CRIMEAN CONFLICT, EAST UKRAINE, ETC. 1

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (FR for short) were officially formed in May 1992 and are seen as the heir to the combat traditions and achievements of the Soviet armed forces. Currently, they are recognized as the second most powerful armed forces in the world, second only to US forces. One of their most important elements is the land component, i.e. the Land Forces of the Russian Federation, which in 2013 consisted of around 250,000 soldiers. Their most numerous component is still infantry - primarily motorized and mechanized. In 2013, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation consisted of 34 motorized rifle brigades. However, it is assumed that in 2016 they already had a motorized rifle division and - in addition - 35 motorized rifle brigades. It is worth adding that at the end of 2016, official information was provided about the formation of two new motorized divisions and two new motorized rifle brigades. At present, it is very difficult to give the exact number of brigades and divisions of the above-mentioned type. The composition of the modern Russian motorized brigade can be given on the example of the 9th Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade stationed in the city of Boguczar. In 2013, it had, among others, 41 tanks, 120 IFVs, 15 tracked armored personnel carriers and 18 multi-rocket launchers. It is worth adding, however, that the composition of individual motorized brigades could have changed significantly since 2013. It is worth adding that the current motorized and mechanized infantry units of the Russian Federation are largely based on vehicles structurally derived from the times of the USSR and they are most often IFVs from the BMP-2 and BMP-3 family, MT-LB tracked transporters or wheeled armored personnel carriers (KTO ) BTR-70 / BTR-80 / BTR-90. Of course, these cars are intensively modernized. It is worth noting that there are also completely new types of weapons introduced, such as the Kamaz Tajfun family of vehicles. However, the main shooting weapons remain the AK-74 and AK-74M.