MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin took time to inspect Desertcross 1000-3 utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) being procured for the Russian Armed Forces during a visit to the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov-on-Don, according to footage on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier that Putin had flown in to the southern Russian city from Astana, following his official visit to Kazakhstan. Accompanying the supreme commander-in-chief during his visit to the military headquarters were Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and other senior military leaders. The president was introduced to new types of military equipment and heard reports on the progress of the special military operation in Ukraine.

There were several Chinese-made Desertcross 1000-3 UTVs on display in the yard of the headquarters. Russia’s defense chief said that the UTV off-road buggy "was extremely in demand" as he described its features to Putin. According to the information stand next to the vehicles, 537 basic versions of the Desertcross 1000-3 are currently in service with the Russian Army, with around 1,500 more vehicles equipped with additional options currently being purchased. Of that number, 500 will be bought in December with the balance to be procured in the first quarter of 2024. Russia is paying 1.58 mln rubles ($17,200) per unit for the basic configuration and 2.1 mln rubles ($22,800) per unit for UTVs with optional add-ons.