Image source: topwar.ru
The Ukrainian army has been replenished with M-80A combat vehicles of Yugoslav production. Slovenia handed over a batch of BMP to Kiev, and this happened back in May or early June. Slovenian Defense Minister Marjan Sarek announced the delivery of armored vehicles.
The Slovenian Defense Minister commented on the demands from Kiev to provide as many weapons as possible, saying that Slovenia had exhausted its capabilities to provide military assistance by handing over everything it could to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to Sarek, Kalashnikov assault rifles, protective helmets, bulletproof vests and 35 M-80A infantry fighting vehicles removed from storage were sent to Ukraine.
As the Minister stressed, Slovenia can further provide Ukraine with assistance in demining the territory, as well as training the Ukrainian military.
The fact that Slovenia intends to donate a batch of Yugoslav M-80A infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine was reported back in May of this year. This armored vehicle was no longer used by the Slovenian army and was in long-term storage. Moreover, it is claimed that Kiev was negotiating with Ljubljana about the possible purchase of these infantry fighting vehicles.
The M-80A infantry fighting vehicle was developed in Yugoslavia and adopted in 1982. It was mass-produced at the FAMOS enterprise in Hrasnica (Bosnia and Herzegovina) until 1991, in total about 900 units were manufactured. Although the M-80A is compared to the Soviet BMP-1, it has an original design and is closer to the French AMX-10P, from which it borrowed many elements. The BMP has five ice rinks, whereas the Soviet BMP-1 has six. In the basic version, it was armed with a 20-mm automatic cannon, later the caliber was increased to 30 mm.
