The Ukrainian Defense Forces have been strengthened with Romanian TAB-71M armored personnel carriers. Videos of these armored vehicles being loaded onto tractors were displayed on social media platforms. The initial batch of TAB-71M APCs was integrated into the Ukrainian military last year.
However, the precise details regarding the quantity of armored vehicles and their source remain unclear. Prior to Russia’s full-scale invasion, these armored personnel carriers had not been utilized by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The TAB-71M armored personnel carrier is a licensed variant of the Soviet BTR-60PB APC, manufactured in Romania during the Warsaw Pact era. The primary distinction from the Soviet APC is the substitution of the engine; two French Saviem 797-05 engines are fitted.
Several modifications were made, including a version featuring an M-37M 82mm mortar mounted in the troop compartment. TAB-71M was produced from the early 1970s until the early 1990s at the Fabrica de Masini Grele Speciale special heavy engineering factory in Bucharest.
The crew is composed of 3 individuals, with eight soldiers in the troop compartment; standard weapons include two machine guns. It is known that the TAB-71M served in the Armed Forces of Moldova and Romania.
In 2017, Bucharest decided to upgrade to a more contemporary model. According to recent information, Moldova had 110 armored personnel carriers of this model, Romania had 247, and approximately 40 additional units were manufactured for Yugoslavia; however, the number remaining after the country’s dissolution is uncertain.