The military materiel also included 15 light armoured vehicles, said Colonel Igor Konashenkov, of the Russian infantry staff.

For the most part, the armoured vehicles had been manufactured in Ukraine, he said, adding that an unspecificied number of US-made troop transporters had also been found.

D-30 cannons and Czech-manufactured artillery systems also featured on the list of materiel which the Russian army said it had recovered.

In addition, soldiers seized about 2,000 firearms, ' both Soviet and American made,' and 'a large quantity of munitions' for both light arms and tanks, said Konashenkov.

He also said Russian forces had destroyed 21 of the 65 seized Georgian tanks because they were 'unusable'. The Russians will keep the remaining tanks, he added.

The armoured vehicles were 'Soviet made T-72 but they had been repaired and modernised not long ago in Ukraine,' he said.

The troop transports 'also have been extensively modernised by Ukrainian businesses,' he added.

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