ICM 35018 1/35 Danger! Mines! Ukraine Summer 2022

The ZiŁ-131 is a Soviet / Russian off-road truck, the first prototypes of which appeared in the early 1960s. Serial production lasted from 1966 to 2002 and was concentrated at the Ził plant in Moscow.

The ZiŁ-131 was developed and put into production as a supplement and successor to the ZiŁ-157 car. Compared to its predecessor, it received primarily an engine generating much greater maximum power (150 HP compared to 109 HP), which translated into significantly better performance and a load capacity, which increased from 4500 kg to 5000 kg. In addition, a fully loaded Model 131 can also tow a 5-tonne trailer. The ZiŁ-131 has an all-wheel drive (6x6) and is characterized by good off-road ability. However, it is not very economical, because on the road it consumes up to 65 liters of fuel per 100 km, and off-road fuel consumption increases to at least 150 liters per 100 kilometers! Many specialized versions were created on the ZiŁ-a-131 chassis, such as: a garbage truck, a tanker or a truck tractor. The BM-21 Grad unguided missile launcher is also mounted on this car.

The modern Ukrainian Land Forces (uk. ZSU) were established in December 1991 on the basis of the land units remaining in the territory of the former Ukrainian Soviet Republic, as well as bases or depots of military supplies and ammunition. Since then, the number of land forces has been systematically reduced until 2014, the beginning of the Russian aggression in the Donbass. In 2016, the land armed forces numbered approximately 169,000 soldiers on active duty. At present, in the face of the Russian threat, the emphasis is on making the army as professional as possible, providing units with the latest equipment possible, and also improving the quality of training. It is worth adding that changes in the latter area have been going on since 2006 and it can be assumed that it was largely influenced by joint training of Ukrainian units with NATO troops. The Ukrainian army sent relatively large contingents to Iraq (2003-2005) and Kosovo (2000-2014).