Russian townfolk find 100 abandoned T-80s in the woods. Army replies, "... and?"

[Syt]

Big surprise as locals find tanks in Russian forest

AFP - Russians were amazed to discover dozens of T-80 battle tanks seemingly abandoned in a local forest, but army officials insisted there was nothing unusual about it.

The tanks -- nearly 100 in all -- were found near the Elanovskaya railroad station about 100 kilometres (60 miles) outside the Urals Mountains city of Yekaterinburg, the Kommersant daily reported on Saturday.

Their presence was revealed after a local news website posted a video of the tanks, covered in a deep layer of snow and resting peacefully between the railroad and the woods with no military personnel in sight.

"There are tanks all over the forest, abandoned. If you need one, come and get it," an unnamed person behind the camera says in the video posted on E1.ru, as the camera spins around to show dozens of unguarded tanks.

A spokesman for the Volga-Urals Military District, the branch of the Russian army which oversees the area, said the tanks were being transported to a storage site as part of a routine logistical operation.

"Work on their transport to the storage base is going according to plan. All the vehicles are under guard by military patrols consisting of officers and soldiers," the spokesman, Dmitry Burdakov, told Kommersant.

"It is entirely possible they could have been filmed on video. This is not a military secret, and placing a guard next to each vehicle is impossible."

[Syt]

Video in English
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTK7wfGcbU

[jimmy olsen]

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