Armed Forces of Ukraine Receive Italian Puma APCs

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has authorized the use of Italian Puma armored personnel carriers in the army.

The defense ministry explained that the armored personnel carriers have undergone codification, which allows the purchase of these APCs for funds from the state budget.

No country has officially reported that the aid packages included Puma wheeled armored personnel carriers.

This armored personnel carrier is in service with the armed forces of Italy, Pakistan, Libya, and Djibouti.

Presumably, the batch of Puma APCs was included in one of the classified defense aid packages to Ukraine from the Italian government.

Puma armored personnel carriers in 6×6 and 4×4 wheel configurations were developed and mass-produced by the Italian consortium Iveco-Oto Melara in the early 2000s.

The crew of the Puma 6×6 armored vehicle with a weight 8.2 tons consists of two people: a driver and a gunner. The latter is armed with a 7.62 mm or 12.7 mm machine gun. The squad compartment has space for four Ukrainian soldiers.

The APC’s powerplant is a four-cylinder Iveco diesel engine with a capacity of 180 hp and an automatic transmission.

In Ukraine, the APC can perform various functions, including reconnaissance, fighting armored vehicles (version with an anti-tank missile on the roof of the vehicle), and transferring manpower.

Various variants of the Puma APC have been created: command and control, reconnaissance, equipped with anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, with 81-mm mortar, medevac APCs, and CBRN monitoring vehicles.

Previously, Italy sent a batch of M109L artillery systems to Ukraine without an official announcement.

In June, Italy confirmed the transfer of an additional battery of the SAMP/T anti-aircraft missile system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles.