Russia deploys armoured train for reconnaissance and demining tasks in Ukraine

The Russian defence ministry published footage of an armoured train it has deployed in what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

According to the ministry, the train carries a double-barreled anti-aircraft gun as its main calibre, with the crew armed with a heavy machine gun and small arms, including sniper rifles.

The primary missions of the armoured train were given as engineer reconnaissance, mine clearance and repair of damaged rail tracks, if needed.

Armoured trains first saw combat during the American Civil War of the mid-1860s and became a symbol of the Russian Civil War in the early 20th century.

Russia sent armoured trains into action during the Chechen Wars of the late 1990s, as well as its short 2008 war with Georgia. Pro-Russian forces in Ukraine's Donbas region also operated their own armoured train when fighting Ukrainian troops in late 2015.