Cars for the Front

On November 20, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office distributed a press release boasting that some 5,500 confiscated cars have been put to use in Russia's War on Ukraine.

Per the release, following the enactment of increased restrictions on drunk driving, over 33,000 vehicles were taken off Russian roads. Per Russian law, these cars, now out of private hands, can be put to state use.

Of those, 146 were sent for the "development of new regions," and 19 were transferred to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But 5,500 were given to the armed forces for use in their ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 

Traditional military vehicles have had a hard time in Ukraine. Since the start of the invasion, typical tanks, APCs, and support vehicles have proved less effective than anticipated, and their Ukrainian opponents have adapted tactics by using tools like drones to take out heavy armor. More recently, the Russian armed forces have started using civilian dirtbike-style motorcycles to get troops to the front swiftly without presenting a large target for drones.

Still, this development means we may soon see footage of wacky ISIS-style technicals with Russian flair.