Why Are Russian Soldiers In Crimea Armed With American-Style AR-15-Based Rifles?

By Bob Owens | 2:49 PM | March 18, 2014

russian spr — Armed Russian forces arrest Ukrainian army officers during an operation in Simferopol on March 18, 2014 (AFP Photo/Alisa Borovikova)

AFP Photographer Alisa Borovikova just posted a stunning photo of Russian troops arresting Ukrainian Army officers at gunpoint.

United States Navy Mark 12 Mod 0/1 Special Purpose Rifle (SPR) (via Wikipedia)

The stunning part of the photo is that the soldier looking in her direction is clearly armed with an American-style AR-15-based rifle set up to be similar to a Special Purpose Rifle, complete with variable-power scope with sunshade, bipod, 20-round magazine, and what appears to be a quick-detach suppressor.

Why is a Russian soldier armed with an AR-15-style light sniper rifle that uses 5.56 NATO ammunition?

A U.S sniper looks through the scope of a Mk 12 Mod 1 Special Purpose Rifle. (Wikipedia)

I’d love to know the answer to that one myself.

Bob Owens is the Editor of BearingArms.com. Bob is a graduate of roughly 400 hours of professional firearms training classes, including square range and force-on force work with handguns and carbines. He is a past volunteer instructor with Project Appleseed. He most recently received his Vehicle Close Quarters Combat Instructor certification from Centrifuge Training, and is the author of the short e-book, So You Want to Own a Gun. He can be found on Twitter at bob_owens.