I'm not sure about this. Various sites claim that the picture was found in an Italian newspaper. Nowhere does it say in what paper or when so I've no idea how serious this claim is. But it could rule out the Warsaw Pact connection.If there is a Czech connection here, this oddity might have escaped attention for the same reason.
I wonder if anyone could find out what paper this was and when the picture was published. If this story is true it might open the way to the original source and provide us with some facts about the vehicles origins.
Cheers,
Paul